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Reputations' Michael Davis and Iris Dias hold CPRS Webinar - 27 OCTOBER 2011
Michael Davis Gives Expert Opinion on Groundbreaking Apology
- 12 OCTOBER 2011
National Aboriginal Business Opportunities Conference - 7 OCTOBER 2011
Supreme Court rules for InSite - 27 SEPTEMBER 2011
GLG Life Tech in Vancouver Sun - 21 SEPTEMBER 2011
Lookout Society featured on Studio 4 - 20 SEPTEMBER 2011Walmart asks: How will you change the world?
- 5 AUGUST 2011Measuring communications success
- 4 AUGUST 2011 Lessons from the Olympics
- 12 JULY 2011Reputations 'media machine' in the news
- 15 JUNE 2011 Reputations wins Gold in CPRS National Awards
- 5 MAY 2011 Reputations answers common media training questions
- 5 MAY 2011Walmart Canada nominated in The GLOBE Awards
- 5 APRIL 2011Robert Quartermain profiled in April's BC Business magazine
- 4 APRIL 2011 Pretium Resources feaured on the cover of Resource World magazine
- 18 FEBRUARY 2011Reputations launches video series on crisis communications planning
- 17 FEBRUARY 2011Reputations / Zapp Worx team put Lake Country on the map with new brand and marketing strategy
- 7 JANUARY 2011BC needs an integrated economic development strategy, says Discovery Parks
- 20 DECEMBER 2010Congratulations to Discovery Parks, celebrating 30 years
- 12 DECEMBER 2010Canada Place featured on Daily Planet TV
- 7 SEPTEMBER 2010Linda Bilben interviewed about social media for BCBusiness magazine.
- 1 SEPTEMBER 2010Science World Gets a Facelift
- NEWS ARCHIVE
WAYNE HARTRICK GIVES EXPERT COMMENTARY ON STORK CRAFT
8 December 2009
STORK CRAFT'S WOES ARE ANOTHER IN A LONG LINE OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES, PR FIRMS SAY
Curt Cherewayko, Business in Vancouver
It can take years to build consumer trust in your brand, butonly an instant for that trust to crumble.
Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., which has been making cribs since 1953, learned that lesson after Health Canada and a similar agency in the United States announced a recall of 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by the Richmond-based company.
According to Health Canada, the recall follows three suffocation deaths of infants in the United States and numerous infant injuries in Canada and the U.S. as a result of broken plastic hardware on the cribs.
In published reports and broadcasts, Jim Moore, Stork Craft’s CEO, defended the quality of the company’s manufacturing process and said that the cribs present a hazard only if improperly assembled, used incorrectly, modified or damaged.
It will be revealed in court if he is correct (multiple lawsuits have been filed against Stork Craft) but, as public-relations agencies are well aware, consumer perception often – if not always – trumps the truth.
Some PR agencies view Stork Craft’s ordeal as an exemplary case study about what to do and what not to do when a public-facing crisis afflicts your company.
According to Wayne Hartrick, president of Vancouver’s Reputations Corp., Stork Craft’s reputation has been damaged by its apparent lack of preparation for the recall and by how the company has communicated publicly since the recall was announced on November 23.
“The company didn’t seem to be ready to react to the volume of attention this was going to attract from the customers, regulators and the media,” said Hartrick.
It was reported that Stork Craft’s website was briefly downed by the volume of traffic it received, and customers who called its toll-free number experienced long waits or received busy signals.
Hartrick, who has managed crisis for a number of companies and individuals, empathizes with Stork Craft’s executives.
“The number of stakeholders both from inside and outside the company that come rushing at you for information and decisions is overwhelming,” said Hartrick.
He said it’s essential that businesses, especially those in industries as visible as retail and in which public trust is linked to sales, have a crisis-management plan in place.
Hartrick noted that in media interviews, Stork Craft’s CEO didn’t appear to have clear and articulate answers to certain questions.
In addition to prepared answers for predicted questions from the media, customers and stakeholders, a business’ crisis planning should include timelines and strategy related to how it is going to get out of the crisis.
He added that in Stork Craft’s case, it’s important for the company to express sympathy with and concern for consumers and retail partners.
“The company didn’t do that publicly,” said Hartrick.
“When somebody has invested money as well as their safety or their child’s safety into trusting you, and you appear to be breaking that trust, it creates an emotional reaction,” said Hartrick.
Reputations Corp. recently launched a blog, dubbed “PR Blunders,” that explores how businesses, celebrities and government handle crises.
Stork Craft declined to comment for this article.
Anna Lilly, a Vancouver-based vice-president of Fleishman-Hillard Canada, said Stork Craft’s reputation hasn’t been helped by the fact that the crisis involves infants.
The injury or death of infants provokes a more visceral public response than, say, white-collar crime.
Articles and broadcasts about Stork Craft’s recall have featured images of infant-sized mannequins trapped in awkward positions in Stork Craft cribs.
“That visual communication is a huge part of the way people absorb and relate to information,” said Lilly. “Those images on the television screen almost say more than the 900-word article in The Globe and Mail.”
Lilly added that the importance of relationships and communications channels with media, industry associations, government officials and other stakeholders is highlighted during a crisis.
“If you build that goodwill and those communications channels in advance and you nurture those relationships, you’re much better positioned if something happens to work collaboratively with those people,” said Lilly.
Hartrick added that while Stork Craft’s reaction to the recall was perhaps a little delayed, it’s not too late for the company to bounce back.
He noted that Maple Leaf Foods Inc.’s reputation was badly damaged when a listeriosis outbreak was linked to a company plant in 2008. Maple Leaf eventually adopted a communications policy of accountability and transparency, and the company’s CEO apologized on television to Canadians.
Gradually, Maple Leaf has regained consumer trust and market share.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
24 February 2009
VANCOUVER CANADIANS BASEBALL CLUB GET BEHIND ANTI-BULLYING DAY
Vancouver Canadians baseball team mascot Bob Brown Bear was a good sport and showed active support for the anti-bullying effort at a Vancouver Elementary School.
Dressed in an anti-bullying pink day t-shirt, Bob Brown Bear and Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club general manager Andrew Seymour visited General Brock Elementary School to read to the children an anti-bulling story entitled "Baseball Ballerina Strikes Out".
Anti-Bullying Day is aimed at fostering self esteem, social engagement, academic success, inclusion, acceptance, respect for self and others, and connection to community-all of which are key elements of bullying prevention.
Bob Brown Bear appeared on the front cover of 24 hours and Andrew Seymour was interviewed on The Christy Clarke show the Canadians getting behind the effort.
Click here to read the article.
Click here to listen to Andrew Seymour on The Christy Clarke Show.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
18 February 2009
MICHAEL DAVIS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF NON PARTISAN ASSOCIATION
Reputations Corporation Director of Operations and Senior Counsel, Michael Davis, was elected President of the non Partisan Association; a Vancouver based civic political party. Michael's extensive background in political organizing, issues management and the ability to lead a board of directors were all factors in his appointment.
The following news release from the NPA was distributed following the vote.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
14 February 2009
DISCOVERY PARKS' GREEN BUILDING FEATURE IN VANCOUVER SUN
Reputations' client Discovery Parks new building, DiscoveryGreen Building, was featured on the front page of the Business BC section of Vancouver Sun.
Discovery Parks' visionary DiscoveryGreen Building is scheduled for completion in April and set to become the new standard in commercial building, proving building 'green' makes business sense in today's environmentally conscious market. As proof, the building has already been fully leased!
DiscoveryGreen Building is a 150,000 square foot LEED Gold Standard building, soon to become the city's most sustainable commercial building to date, with the estimated cost benefits predicted to outweigh the small, marginal capital costs to make the building 'green'.
Click here to read the article.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
9 February 2009
SPIRIT OF BC WEEK PROVINCIAL LAUNCH ON GLOBAL TV
Reputations secured a five minute interview on Global TV for Bruce Dewar, CEO of 2010 Legacies Now, when they were commissioned by 2010 Legacies Now to manage the Spirit of BC Week 2009 Provincial Launch Event in the Tri-Cities and to conduct provincial media relations for Spirit of BC Week 2009 and its Signature Events.
Click here to watch the video.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
19 November 2008
WAYNE HARTRICK SPEAKS ON REPUTATION MANAGEMENT IN SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
Reputations Corporation President Wayne Hartrick was a guest speaker at the invitation of Sao Paolo based P.R. agency Imagem Corporativa to give a presentation on Reputation Measurement and Management to their clients. The keynote event, held on 19 November 2008 was a presentation to the crisis management team of Unilever Brazil on the importance of Reputation Management in a crisis and included a review of crisis case studies and the effect on stock value. Wayne also gave a presentation on corporate reputation measurement and management to a gathering of the Sao Paulo agencies key clients.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
4 November 2008
REPUTATIONS' PROGRAM FEATURED IN AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL
Reputations award winning Be a Fan, Not a Fool for BC Place will be showcased as part of the Public Venue Management School (PVMS) fan behaviour curriculum in Toowong Queensland, Australia.
Reputations Corporation created the Be a Fan, Not a Fool program to combat the unruly behaviour displayed by BC Lions fans during home games. The program specifically encouraged fans to take the initiative and report unacceptable behaviour to security.
In 2008, the program underwent a transition to I'm A Fan Not A Fool to put greater responsibility on the individual fan, empowering them to take responsibility for their own fun and ensure a great experience for those around them.
The Fan, Not a Fool has been effective in reducing unruly crowd behaviour, increasing complaints to security and gaining thousands of dollars worth of earned media for BC Place.
PVMS provides management practitioners of public assembly facilities in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region with education and professional development opportunities to enhance the venue management industry. For more information, please visit www.vma.org.au
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
9 October 2008
REPUTATIONS FEATURED IN RBC SPEAKERS SERIES
Reputations Corporation's Senior Counsel Jaime Rupert toured British Columbia for the RBC Speaker Series. Rupert informed the business communities in Vancouver, Kelowna and Abbottsford on how to connect with the several thousand reporters who will be at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Rupert, former media strategist for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, currently provides Reputation's clients with strategic counsel on how to leverage the Olympics to maximize business opportunities. "The Olympics is an unprecedented opportunity for organizations to connect with the world," said Rupert. "At Reputations, we help you connect with the thousands of media and have your story communicated to an international audience. "
The RBC 2010 Legacies Now Speaker Series enables BC businesses and communities to learn from international experts in the Olympic and Paralympic Games industry.
To contact Jamie Rupert to discuss media opportunities available to your organization leading up to and beyond the Games, please email marketing@reputations.com.
Watch the webinar or read about Jaime in the Vancouver Sun, Kelowna Capital News or Abbotsford Times.
REPUTATIONS CORPORATION AND CLIENT NEWS
4 September 2008
VANCOUVER CANADIANS ON BREAKFAST TELEVISION
City TV Breakfast Television team spend the more at Nat Bailey Stadium wrapping the baseball season with the Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club.
Click here to watch the video.