I’m thrilled to be heading to South by Southwest Interactive this weekend as a presenter on the panel “Managing a Shitstorm and Restoring Your Brand.”  The panel is hosted by our clients at The Incite Agency and will focus on how to effectively handle corporate communications crises, using several case studies from the past year.  I’m honored to be presenting alongside the co-founders of The Incite Agency, former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and former White House communications strategist Ben LaBolt.  They built the Obama brand communications from the ground up and are now bringing their expertise to the business world, and they see social listening as an invaluable resource in the world of corporate communications.

In my time at Crimson Hexagon, I have advised many of our clients as they use social media data to measure the scope of PR issues and determine strategies for success.  Using the Forsight platform, I have helped them cut through the noise and get to the meat of online conversation and what it can tell them about reputation management.  Armed with this data, they can determined strategies for resolving communications crises. 

During the panel, I will highlight some recent – and memorable – PR crises, and how social listening may have helped guide the way for recovery.  In fact, if you’re interested in attending, make sure to check out the blog posts on The Incite Agency’s website and vote for the Worst Shitstorm of 2014, including General Motors’ wave of recalls and the Malaysia Airlines catastrophes.  The crisis with the most votes will be featured in the panel, and you’ll get to see me analyze relevant social media data, using the Forsight platform.   In the meantime, you should also check out this Crimson Hexagon PR crisis case study, focusing on reputation management for Paula Deen last year.The panel will be held on Saturday, March 14 from 5:00pm – 6:00pm, at the Hyatt Regency Austin. Click here to add it to your schedule – I hope to see you there!