LOS ANGELES, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management public relations consultancy, has launched AvoidTheApology.com, a service designed to help prevent embarrassing, reputation-damaging and financially harmful crises featured in the news nearly every day.
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For example, consider these PR and social media crises that occurred in just the past few months:
- Some clueless advertising folks at Anheuser-Busch elicited widespread anger with a Bud Lite commercial featuring the tagline "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night";
- Sea World launched its disastrous #askseaworld campaign, not thinking through how that hashtag could be comically and sadly hijacked;
- Starbucks launched – and then had to abort – its ill-considered "Race Together" campaign;
- Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart's hand-picked replacement on "The Daily Show," came under fierce online criticism for anti-Semitic and otherwise insensitive tweets;
"If those organizations used our AvoidTheApology.com service, all of these gaffes could have been averted," said Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.
Bernstein added, "By launching AvoidTheApology.com, we're offering clients a carefully-selected cadre of experts with the experience, savvy and objectivity to provide brutally candid analysis and feedback that clients need to hear. In-house or retained PR/marketing advisors are often reluctant or not expected to speak as freely as we can. Our sole mission is to look at marketing, advertising and PR programs before they're launched and predict what could go wrong."
As proof of the objectivity offered via this service, Bernstein Crisis Management won't accept other, unrelated assignments from AvoidTheApology.com clients. "We're not trying to poach work from existing consultancies or supersede in-house talent; we're providing what we believe to be a first-of-its-kind service," Bernstein said.
Some of the types of programs and plans AvoidTheApology.com experts anticipate reviewing include:
- Significant operational decisions, understanding that all such decisions have potential impact on reputation and the bottom line.
- Any major advertising campaign, particularly the rollout of new ad slogans – e.g., advice on potential misuse by competitors, pop culture and social media.
- Social media campaigns (e.g., Twitter hashtag) – their potential for being hijacked and other abuse.
- Offbeat or unusual humor intended for advertising or PR programs.
- High profile speeches – ensuring that the content of important speeches by a celebrity or public figure will resonate as desired and, most important, not draw unexpected criticism.
- Celebrity and CEO appearances before Congress or other legislative bodies – anticipating the worst that could happen before they step into the lion's den.
"Can we guarantee we'll be 100% successful in every possible crisis that might somehow be associated with AvoidTheApology.com client initiatives?" Bernstein asked rhetorically. "Of course not. We are, however, fully confident we'll dramatically reduce the risk through our rigorous analysis process. And, in the unlikely event that an unanticipated negative consequence does result, we will refund any fee paid to us for that project."
Bernstein Crisis Management has been a virtual consultancy for 21 years, with a cadre of more than 30 consultants in a wide variety of crisis management-related fields. The new service is launching with a core team of two staff members and two lead contractors.
- Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, author and frequent expert media source;
- Erik Bernstein, company vice president and originator of the AvoidTheApology.com concept;
- Susan Tellem, APR, RN, BSN, of Tellem Grody Public Relations, Inc., a senior crisis management consultant with more than 30 years of experience; and,
- Mark Weaver, principal of Communications Counsel, an attorney and crisis communications advisor.
"When additional help is mandated by a client's needs, I'll hand-pick the right consultants from our database," said Jonathan Bernstein.
Pricing for the service will be on a project basis. For more information, visit http://avoidtheapology.com or email.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jonathan Bernstein
626-825-3838
Email