Global Issues & Crisis Management

Analyzing recent disaster communications, both successful and failed, can provide important insights for managers and politicians alike when facing the unexpected.

The hours and days immediately following a profound disaster can shape institutional and political reputations for years to come. Events such as the tragedy of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines can overwhelm the under-prepared; even country leaders can fall victim to insufficient planning. Lack of preparation can lead to a lacking response to disaster, as leaders scramble to answer the public’s justifiable demand for information and assistance. In recent years, three characteristics of outstanding disaster emergency communications have emerged. [Read more…] about Leadership, Disaster Response and Crisis Communications: Weathering the PR Storm

I have been counseling pharmaceutical and other healthcare brand managers about public relations for 35 years. And while brand managers today are much more sophisticated and analytic than they were back in the 70s and 80s, I continue to be at least a bit dismayed about the way they perceive public relations and how it fits into the product marketing mix.

Perhaps what follows are the musings of a public relations person who is past his prime and ready for whatever ultimate fate awaits people who do what I do for a living, but the biggest mistakes I still see healthcare brand managers make about PR are as follows:

1.      Bringing the PR Consultant in too late
2.      Failing to accept that all products (and companies) are flawed
3.      Underestimating the power of patients
4.      Stinting on evaluating the impact of PR on audiences
5.      Assuming that PR is a commodity

[Read more…] about Five Mistakes Healthcare Brand Managers Make about Public Relations

Today’s blog entry comes to us from Jorge Azevedo, Managing Director of Guess What, our GLOBALHealthPR partner in Portugal.

In today’s world we are under scrutiny every minute. The “Berlin Wall” of privacy that once defended organizations has fallen to the hands of a generation hungry for information. The good and bad practices of companies and the individuals who represent them are publicly discussed, and ethical oversights can lead to serious consequences both in terms of reputation and financial impact.

With this in mind, I believe the key to long-term organizational success is greater transparency—transparency about processes, products and procedures, both internal and external. [Read more…] about The Little Big Role of Public Relations

Dr. Ken Rabin and Andrzej Kropiwnicki of Alfa Communications, GLOBALHealthPR’s partner in Poland, will be featured in an upcoming issue of Public Relations Review, the oldest academic journal dedicated solely to public relations. Their precise analysis of two key health PR cases in Poland emphasizes the need for professionals to avoid pitfalls of the unprepared. A lot has changed since 2009 when the most recent edition of the Global Public Relations Handbook was published.

Is the handbook alone enough for global health communications professionals who do business in foreign markets? The authors answer this question and more. [Read more…] about GLOBALHealthPR Partners to be featured in preeminent peer-reviewed PR journal