Holtz Communications + Technology

Back in 2009, when reporting on financial services company AIG’s image woes, MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow observed that AIG had retained PR agency Burson Marstellar to help with its problems. She then ran down a list of other unsavory organizations that had sought help from Burson, then concluded, “When Evil needs public relations, Evil has Burson-Marsteller on speed-dial.”

There’s a reason Burson gets these calls.…

Of all the many dimensions to a company’s response to a crisis, none is more important than adhering to the company’s published values. You know what I’m talking about, right? They get posted in frames on corridor walls. They emblazon the backs of employee security badges. They are enshrined on dedicated intranet and website pages. They are trumpeted at new-hire orientations. They are…

By any measure, the launch last Monday of the KONY 2012 video is a massive social media success. But there were negative repercussions, some of which could have long-lasting implications for Invisible Children, the institution behind the video.

In case you were in a coma last week, Invisible Children released its 30-minute video designed to make Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony…

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz interview Adam Kmiec, director of social media for Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in the U.S. and a Fortune 50 company. Walgreens has engaged in the last 10 days or so in a social media-focused effort to build awareness among customers of alternatives to Express Scripts, the prescription benefit manager through which…

Zappos is a social media darling. The company’s adoption of Twitter, its encouragement of employees to engage online openly during work and CEO Tony Hsieh’s commitment to social channels are all trotted out regularly in articles, books and talks. I’m as gung-ho on Zappos’ use of social media as anybody.

One test remained, however. All of Zappos’ social activities have so far been employed in pursuit of…

Two current crises demonstrate the value of candor in an organization’s social-focused communication efforts. In both cases, nothing the organization says will keep people from being upset and unhappy. But in one instance, the company acknowledged the fact and provided an opportunity for people to vent while at the same time confining much of the discussion to comments on its own