For the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, the Trust-Breaker is drug/product prices. For automotive it has always been safety, but today cheating the EPA is just as hot. In banking and finance, it’s CEO’s pay and annual bonuses versus the average worker.
A recent survey conducted by CommCore showed that many industries will continue to be under fire in 2016 and beyond. The survey was titled: “From Tylenol to the Latest Cyber Attacks, 30 Years of Media and Crisis Coaching.” Many reading this post responded and we thank you for participating. The questions were around how media and crisis communication prep has changed over time, what have been the biggest influencers of that change, and where we see the future shaping up.
The full-results can be found on our website. But we wanted to share three interesting findings:
- First, and it should not come as any surprise, is that Social Media and Mobile communications have served as the biggest “game-changer.” Because of that, crises can originate and get fueled from just about anywhere. Accordingly we counsel our clients that the “response team” should be comprised of members of all department, not just the CEO with a PR chief whispering in his/her ear!
- Second is that the likely industries which will be – or continue to be – the biggest lightening-rods for future crises are what we like to call the “Three Fs” – Finance, Food and Pharmaceuticals. (The auto industry comes in a close 4th – the survey was taken before the VW crisis hit — and there are no industries that are immune.
- Lastly is that our greatest fears of the type of crises have shifted. Gone are the days of worrying most about product tampering, accidents and ethical lapses by management. Now, what tops the list is Cyber Security. Most organizations carry sensitive information in the cloud and it’s only a question of when, not if there will be a breach. And when it happens, the concern won’t be for the organization as victim, it will be, “Why didn’t you protect my data?” The response is what makes or breaks an organization’s trust and reputation.
What are you predicting for 2016? What are the new Trust-Breaker issues emerging?