- A massive 50% of managers within the marketing and advertising sector said their CEO was putting their company at risk of a crisis, compared to an all-sector average of 30%
- Similarly, 46% also said that their company’s higher management team were putting them at risk
- This sector was found to be the most prepared for a crisis
A recent survey of UK managers, commissioned by online reputation agency Igniyte, has revealed that the marketing and advertising sector are the most worried about their CEO causing a PR crisis for the company, but that they were also the most prepared out of all sectors to deal with a crisis.
50% of managers within this sector said they thought a PR crisis could be caused by their CEO, 46% said the same of their company’s higher management team, and 38% said online security was a worry.
A massive 40% of managers within this sector said that their company had a crisis management plan in place and that everyone in the company knew what was involved in it, whereas with all sectors combined, only 22% could say this, showing how well prepared the marketing and advertising sector is.
17% of managers in this sector admitted that their company had suffered a PR crisis in the past, but that they’d recovered well, compared to a 12% all sector average.
A confident 15% of managers in this sector said they thought their company would successfully protect itself and its reputation if a PR crisis were to arise.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that a sector so digitally-savvy would be the best prepared for a PR crisis and recognise the dangers in online security.
On the whole across all eight sectors surveyed, 1 in 10 (10%) managers don’t think their company is well prepared for a crisis, and almost a quarter (24%) of managers admitted that their company does have a crisis management plan but they don’t know what it involves.
Overall, managers cited higher management (39%), online security (35%) and the CEO (30%) as the biggest risks to causing a PR crisis for their companies.
As an online reputation management agency, Igniyte often helps brands and companies prepare for and deal with online crises.
Igniyte’s founder and director, Simon Wadsworth, commented on the research:
“With the internet offering increasing transparency and scrutiny of a company and its leaders, monitoring and limiting the risk of a PR crisis should be paramount to any company’s marketing strategy.
“Just one ill-judged tweet from a key executive of a high-profile brand can bring the whole company into disrepute, or just one negative comment from a disgruntled ex-employee online can cause questions to be asked about how you treat your staff.
“Simply monitoring for what people are saying about you online means you can act fast on a potential crisis, significantly limiting the damage it could have.
“The effects of a crisis can be devastating, we only have to look at the recent highly-publicised crises for Volkswagen and TalkTalk to see what impact it can have on share price and reputation. Of course, you can never completely avoid a crisis, but the good news is you can considerably limit the chances of one happening.”
The research coincides with the release of a ‘Reputation Protection’ guide by Igniyte which details how companies of all sizes can prepare themselves for a crisis and what to do when one hits.
- The survey was conducted in February 2016 of 508 managers across eight sectors working in the UK.
- The survey was commissioned by Igniyte and carried out by The Leadership Factor.
For further comment or information, please contact:
Aimee Sutcliffe, PR Manager, Igniyte
aimee@igniyte.co.uk
About Igniyte:
Igniyte is the UK’s leading online reputation management company, supporting individuals and brands in building and maintaining a strong, positive online presence.
Igniyte works with clients internationally to:
- Monitor, identify and manage mentions and sentiment online.
- Promote authoritative reputations online using PR and communications techniques.
- Challenge online content legally where it is defamatory or irrelevant.
- Create and optimise digital content such as websites, blogs, articles and online profiles.
- Implement effective processes such as positive review strategies.
