Natural Crisis Hurricane Hagupit

Posted by vocalexchange on

Not all crisis are man made, though some question just how involved we are, especially regarding climate change.  A potential crisis is developing near the Philippines right now.  A typhoon, or hurricane as we call it in the States, is off the coast of the Philippine Islands headed projected to hit the Eastern Samar province, according to a report in the Associated Press.

About a year ago Hurricane Haiyan hit islands in the Philippines killing over 7,300 people.  Hurricanes and other natural disasters are serious events and almost always result in a crisis when people are involved (not all storms are on land).  People often times don’t take them seriously, and the same can be said about crisis.

There tends to be a different response to a crisis, especially when one just occurred.  If BP has another oil spill you can bet they’ll be all over that one like bees to honey.  Officials, businesses, and residents in the Philippines aren’t taking any risk this time around with a potential crisis looming over the horizon.

Though I’m not apart of the crisis management team, nor do I do any PR for the Philippine’s government, but you can see them using their, undoubtedly updated, crisis management plan.  According to the AP report, thousands of people have been evacuated to safer areas, people are stocking up on durable goods, the military is working along with the government to prepare food, medicine, and shelter for people affected by the storm.  Philippine President President Benigno Aquino III had a meeting yesterday with disaster response agencies to create steps to prevent panic among citizens.  All things you would expect from a well planned, well created, well managed CMP.

My eyes, and prayers are with the Philippines.  Every crisis presents an opportunity to learn steps which can prevent a situation from ever becoming one.  That’s perhaps one of the most important things I learned this semester in PRCA 4332 Crisis Communication.

References:

http://news.yahoo.com/approaching-philippine-storm-brings-back-nightmare-063051855.html

Prodrome, “Alert”

Posted by vocalexchange on

Who say’s image isn’t important knows nothing about Public Relations.  PR is more than just image though, It’s about building relationships.  That’s how you remain profitable, that’s how you remain successful, heck that’s even how some people get out of hot water.  Just think of the last repeat offender you read about who, “got-off”.

Now I won’t go as far as to say that these women have built relationships with law enforcement, but I will say that as an organization as a whole, as a fraternity of our public trust, as defenders of the peace, and safety watchdogs, there’s another crack in the pavement.

In an article written yesterday in BOLDRIDE, online auto webazine, men are three times more likely to be checked for DWI than women at police checkpoints.  The information was based on a study done i Great Britain.  The report also states that the difference between men and women who actually drive while under the influence isn’t that wide of a gap, with 1-in-7 women, and 1-in-10 men failing breathalyzer test.

Why is this important?  Because, image is important…Yes I answered my own question, at least I’m not talking to myself, -not out loud anyways.

So here we are again, questioning fairness, honesty, justice,  the up holding of the law and public trust.  Here’s a great example of something which may not seem like a crisis, but in the bigger picture of relationship building, and ability to objectively perform a job, a crisis is at your front door while another is in the living room.  The public image of law enforcement will continue to suffer, and relationships will remain broken unless the message, and actions start lining up better.  “To Protect and Serve” speaks differently depending on who you ask.  You want a uniformed message across your organization, and good PR can help you get there.

References:

http://news.boldride.com/2014/12/dwi-checkpoints-women-advantage/63907/

“Hackers!”

Posted by vocalexchange on

This seems all too familiar,  of course I’m referring to a crisis involving hacking.  In fact this isn’t the first time Sony has been hacked.  I own a Playstation 3, which doesn’t work, but that’s another story.  Let’s just say that I’ve gone through three of them; three must be a lucky number.

Sony’s Playstaion Network  was hacked in 2012 in which a firmware exploit was to access and control system software.  The result was people doing normally impossible things in games, (my first had experience) such as getting sniped by someone in Call of Duty who’s floating in mid air.  Sony’s PSN was hacked again in 2013 in which account information, and fraudulent charges were made using stolen data.  Luckily for me it just amounted to not being able to play games online or access my account for several weeks.  Now Sony Pictures in the news today after being hacked, in which about 40 gigabytes worth of data was reported stolen from company computers.

The full details of the hack aren’t known (are they ever?), but what is known is that Sony should be well prepared for this type of crisis.  We’ll see how things unfold the next few days, weeks, or months to tell how prepared they are, but they should have this type of crisis clearly listed on their crisis vulnerability audit.

As I learned in my Crisis Comm course this semester, a vulnerability audit can help organizations determine what areas the greatest vulnerabilities are for a crisis to occur.  Then from there you can plan and prepare for that specific crisis, how to deal with it, and what to expect (to some degree).

I’m really pulling for you Sony, as I now have a Playstation 4.  Some people never learn, hopefully you did.

References:

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/sony-hack-what-we-know/

http://www.esecurityplanet.com/hackers/sony-ps3-hacked-again.html

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/12/06/hacked-psn-accounts-used-to-make-fraudulent-charges

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Posted by vocalexchange on

There comes a time in Public Relations to make a statement, to say to your public this is what were doing, this is who we are, and this is what you get from us.  However, the greatest statement an organization makes is not with words but with actions.  So what happens when an organizations message doesn’t seem to match its performance?  A lot of things can happen, but one thing that almost always happens to an organization under those circumstances is a crisis.

In my Crisis Communications class at Georgia Southern University, I learned about the stage of a crisis as well as what denotes one.  If a crisis is a major event with a potentially negative outcome, then the state of public safety in the U.S. is now in a crisis.  There have been several prodromes (warning signs) that a crisis is on the horizon with police all over the country.  In fact, I wouldn’t even simply call this a crisis.  Let’s be honest here, police have been beating, using excessive force, violating rights, profiling, and killing minorities for decades.  What we have here is a sustained crisis, well past but in a revolving prodromal stage.  Prodromes never seem to end, but rather reoccur in different areas sometimes in different forms.  What is it that’s said, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”  Gun control advocates should especially be concerned;  police brutality, and government agency abuses donate free support to the NRA’s ideal in maintaining that well armed militia you’ve probably heard about.

What is needed among our police is a message, some good PR, and performance that matches both.  Chicago, which is no stranger to violence, is being proactive because of the current crisis in Ferguson, Missouri.  They, along with many other departments around the country, are implementing portable video cameras for officers to wear while on duty.  This is a great step and sends a great message to the community.  It says your complaints are heard, and your voice matters.  It says that just because you’re in a uniform doesn’t make you infallible.  It say’s enough, is enough…

References:

http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-police-adopt-body-cameras-other-post-ferguson-200100486–nfl.html

Curtains Closed

Posted by vocalexchange on

It’s that time of the semester.  This week I ask that you reflect on the semester. What were the highs and the lows? What would you want to change & why? What have you learned that you will take with you into the next semester? For those of you who are graduating, what will you take with you into your first job outside college?

“Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last!”  Seriously, it’s been a fun experience.  Even though I despise social media I did enjoy exchanging with everyone.  Honestly I can’t say that the class had any lows, non that weren’t of my own doing anyway!  If I were to change anything about the class I’d nix the discussion board, which is a bit redundant in Lew of blogging, and replace it with a weekly bonus assignment consisting of the various papers such as the press release, psa, media advisory sheet, etc.  The weekly bonus paper should allow students to represent any organization of their choosing. This would allow students to get more practice writing such things & invite more practical creative experiences.  I have learned that I need to study the AP Stylebook the way Psychologist study the D.S.M, & that Mrs. Groover is a pretty groovy.

“Batter UP!”

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I’m not a fan of baseball & haven’t been since I played in little league, but if I worked in PR for one the professional ball clubs I have a few ideas of how they could improve game attendance.  First I’d research the demographics of those who attend, then based on that knowledge I’d implement some strategies to cater to that group,and some news strategies to reach those who aren’t attending simultaneously.  I feel this is an important approach because you don’t want to loose your steady fan base in an effort to reach others which frequently happens when organizations make changes to cater to others.  A couple of examples would be to try to reach more families by making games more family oriented. Put a halftime show in the middle of the game geared to kids in which some clown’s come out and play a mock Harlem Gobe Trotter style baseball.  Simultaneously you could include a mobile phone trivia game at halftime where adults can play for a sponsored product like a new car.  Hold lotteries raffles for season tickets, cash prizes, and games in which kids can win memorabilia/tickets.  I wouldn’t change strategies just based on if the team is winning or not.  I would implement strategies, and used what worked regardless of team ranking.  The goal is to increase game attendance every season.

Time Travel

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If you had the resources and the time, where would you want to travel? Why? What is it about the location(s) that make it desirable for you to want to visit?

If I had the money & time there are a few places I’d like to travel to, but first there’s the small business of buying my own personal security forces.  Not to take over the world you see, but some places I’d like to go visit are a bit hostile.  The first place on my list would be Tokyo because I love the culture, and it’s an Incredible city. next would be the ancients including: Greece, Egypt, Jerusalem, Rome & the Vatican.  I’d like to visit Africa because of it’s history, is calamity, and to discover the relationship it has with me an many other heretical transfers.  I wouldn’t want to visit merely the tourist areas of all these places, but also the forbidden areas. To experience a country’s completeness both good and bad is the ultimate experience.  Finally I’d like to visit North Korea just to say I’ve been there and made it out!  When’s the last time you’ve spoken to someone about their travels & they said to you North Korea?