Crisis communications

The PR power of “I’m sorry”

Last week I flew to Miami to speak about the power of brands at an IE Law School conference. My flight with American Airlines was uneventful but given what I was due to speak about, it got me thinking about what's been happening recently with another American airline. Let's play a...


Kendall Jenner + Pepsi = Worst. Ad. Ever

Picture the scene: one of the most famous Millennial faces in the world, hot topics of protest and togetherness, a hippy moment and some seriously cool double denim. Doesn’t that sound like a recipe for advertising success to you? Well, while the recent Pepsi ad staring Kendall Jenner - as a...


If Jay Rayner voms on your reputation

I'm taking a break for Easter and in doing so finding more time to read reviews and other lighter bits of news. Whilst cracking open the Campari I took a sharp intake of breath to observe the PR disaster for a famous hotel that is restaurant critic Jay Rayner's latest...


How to humanise a corporate crisis – PwC at the Oscars

Ah the Oscars 2017. Emma Stone in fringed Givenchy, Jimmy Kimmel ribbing Matt Damon and – finally – an awards year that represents a real show of diversity. The Academy must feel so proud of everything that the 2017 awards will be remembered for… right? Well, unless you've had your head...


Phil Shiner’s fall from grace

Few lawyers would want to be in lawyer Phil Shiner's shoes right now. This paragraph from the Daily Telegraph is one of the more measured written about him since the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal struck him off the roll last week. 'Far from advancing his own ends, he implied, he was serving...


Protecting your firm’s reputation after a high-profile exit

If you take an interest in law and politics, then the first week back at work was a treat – Law Society chief executive Catherine Dixon resigned in a letter to Chancery Lane’s 100-strong governing council. The next day, Sir Roger Ivans, UK ambassador to the EU, resigned. The human interest...


Reputation matters – just ask the Law Society

What do you love about being a solicitor? Email us! Maybe add a picture of yourself running a marathon or learning to fly. These are some of the new year exhortations from the Law Society, as Chancery Lane sets about helping members make better use of the solicitor 'brand'. Lawyers can be...


Two tragic events. Two different reputation outcomes.

The crash on the Smiler ride at Alton Towers last year was not the finest hour for Merlin Entertainments. When 16 people were injured last June as a moving car crashed into a stationary car it could very easily have been curtains for the theme park – after all, isn’t...


Putting the boot into your reputation

To enjoy being walked on in high heels is, apparently, a thing – though even among fetishists, I imagine we’re talking about a minority of dedicatees. Certainly accountancy giant PwC didn’t seem to enjoy the experience over the last week. If you missed the extensive coverage, a receptionist working at the firm...


Can you control naming and shaming online?

It’s an unfortunate reality that most women experience casual sexism as an everyday occurrence. A yell from a white van man as she walks to work, or a presumption she will undertake the lion’s share of household chores; women in modern Britain are wearily accustomed to being the subject of...