News
Levick's experienced crisis counselors are regular commentators in traditional print, radio, and television outlets, as well as in online media. The most influential and widely read business, regulatory, and legal media across the country and around the globe turn to Levick experts for insights and commentary.
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February 5, 2010
Tim Needs a Win
The Street TV
Michael Robinson, a Senior Vice President at Washington, DC-based crisis communications firm Levick Strategic Communications, discusses the steps Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner needs to take in order to keep his job.
February 4, 2010
Emerging platforms you should bookmark (or forget about) in 2010
iMediaConnection
According to Dallas Lawrence, chair of the digital and social media practice group at Levick Strategic Communications, Google Wave, the search giant's real-time communication and collaboration tool, is likely one of those products that got a lot of undeserved buzz in the advertising world. "While the platform presents innovative features that could revolutionize the way we communicate online, I don't see this technology taking off from an advertising standpoint in 2010."
February 4, 2010
Blame Ken
Forbes
The Merrill deal is "still the burr under the saddle of a lot of folks," says crisis communications consultant Michael W. Robinson, a former SEC spokesman. "This is not going to go away easily." For starters, it gives politicians something to talk about during an election cycle. Cuomo is eyeing a run at the governor's mansion. In a press conference Thursday, he played up his populism.
February 3, 2010
Toyota's Digital Disaster
Newsweek
If you Google Toyota, among the first things that pop up is an ad slugged "Toyota Recall News." With just a few more clicks, you'll find hundreds of news reports that the car company's faulty accelerators have been linked to 19 deaths ... To learn about the new rules of crisis management, NEWSWEEK's Matthew Philips spoke with Gene Grabowski, chair of crisis and litigation practice at Levick Strategic Communications, the same firm that represented pet-food makers and toy manufacturers during 2007 recalls.
February 1, 2010
The Business of Ghostblogging
Entrepreneur
"If you're a CEO and you're hands off, not really editing, not really making sure it's written in your voice, then it's not credible," says Dallas Lawrence, head of the digital media team at Levick Strategic Communications in Washington, D.C. "People will see through that, and at the end of the day, it'll have a negative impact on the brand."
February 1, 2010
Advanced Social Networking for Travelers
MSNBC
“The squeaky Twitterer still gets the grease,” says Dallas Lawrence, the chair of the digital and social media practice group at Levick Strategic Communications. “Like most travel related stories in the online space, companies have focused their efforts towards addressing critical commentary posted by dissatisfied customers who have posted damaging comment to the online space about a particular airline, hotel or travel provider.”
January 31, 2010
Toyota's Vehicle Recall Puts Reputation at Risk
Business Insurance
“For Toyota, this is their Tylenol moment,” said Mr. Grabowski, referring to New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson's response to the 1982's deaths of seven people who'd ingested cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. “What they do next is so important. They took a big gamble—I think it was forced by the U.S. Department of Transportation to halt production of those eight vehicles. Now that that's done, they have no choice but to communicate clearly and transparently and come back strongly when they do go back into production, and probably add a safety feature or two that they can tout for these cars. So they will have something more that their competitors don't have.”
January 29, 2010
Cars: Off the Road
Financial Times
“This is the first time that anybody has called into question whether they can trust Toyota,” says Gene Grabowski, a crisis communications consultant at Washington-based Levick Strategic Communications.
January 29, 2010
Toyota Recall Update: 'We Have a Remedy.' Will Toyota's Fix Work?
Christian Science Monitor
Reach out. "They need to craft some op-eds out there from the leadership in the company," says Gene Grabowski, a senior vice president who heads the crisis practice of Levick Strategic Communications, a communications consulting firm in Washington, D.C. "Any newspaper in the country would take an op-ed by the CEO of Toyota explaining why they did" the recall.
January 28, 2010
Facing Its 'Tylenol Moment,' Toyota Needs to Move Fast
Daily Finance
Crisis communications expert Gene Grabowski says the automaker is being put to the test by this ordeal much as the makers of Tylenol were tested in the early 1980s by the negative publicity surrounding poisoning deaths connected to their product. "Consumers are going into dealerships getting confused messages. Dealers feel abandoned," says Grabowski, senior vice-president of Levick Strategic Communications. "This is their Tylenol moment."
January 28, 2010
Arenas, Crittenton Suspended for Season
USA Today
Before Arenas and Crittenton rejoin the league, they should rehabilitate their images, crisis-management expert Gene Grabowski said. Arenas "needs to take a page from Michael Vick's book and find himself someone who can serve as a senior mentor ... much as Tony Dungy," Grabowski said of the NFL player's return from animal abuse charges. "Arenas has to do those symbolic things, as well. And he has to show remorse."
January 27, 2010
Workplace Gossip an Issue? Slow the Rumor Mill
Monster.com
The trick is to turn employees' use of social media to the company's advantage, says Dallas Lawrence, chair of the digital and social media practice group at Levick Strategic Communications in Washington, D.C. "Many companies are telling employees what not to do, rather than making them online ambassadors," says Lawrence. "That is a sad misunderstanding of the branding power that employees could have if they were trained and empowered."
January 27, 2010
'Painful' Recall Engulfs Toyotal in Storm
The Globe and Mail
“This is the kind of story that can make or break your reputation,” said Gene Grabowski, senior vice-president of Levick Strategic Communications LLC, a crisis management firm based in Washington. “It's a risky strategy, but it's a strategy that is based on the idea of showing absolute concern for the well-being of customers, which in the long run could be an advantage for Toyota,” Mr. Grabowski said. He compared it to the Tylenol recall by Johnson & Johnson during the 1980s, which is regarded as the most successful management of a crisis by a consumer products company. “In the short run, it's going to be extremely painful.”
January 27, 2010
Toyota Manages Through Major Product Recall
PRNewser
Gene Grabowski, senior VP-chair of crisis and litigation for Levick Strategic Communications, told PRNewser in a phone interview today, "Toyota is no longer in the car business, they are in the safety business, whether they like it or not." Grabowski expressed doubts in the company's communications strategy, saying, "if they have a strategy, it's looking pretty shaky right now."
January 25, 2010
Wall Street Firms Cut Pay, 'Buckling' to Washington (Update 1)
Bloomberg
“There’s no question that Wall Street got the message from Washington,” said Michael W. Robinson, a senior vice president of Levick Strategic Communications and former head of public affairs at the Securities and Exchange Commission. “But positioning the big banks with big bonuses as the bad guys has played well for politicians, and they are likely going to keep coming back to it. To some extent, banks are just going to have to be prepared for that.”
January 24, 2010
Blogs as an Indispensible Crisis Management Tool
Social Media Buzz
Some time back, I talked about Dallas Lawrence, VP of Digital Media at Levick Strategic Communications, who sent me the book Stop the Presses - The Crisis and Litigation PR Desk Reference authored by Richard Levick and Larry Smith - two of his bosses, with a foreword by Jack Trout. I really liked the chapter where they discuss how blogs can become an effective crisis management tool. Here’s a excerpt:
January 22, 2010
Two Big, Bailed-Out Banks Send CEOs to Davos
Reuters
“The last thing you want is to be seen doing anything other than working at your desk, growing your company,” said Michael Robinson, a crisis communications consultant with Levick Strategic Communications. “You don’t want to be seen hanging out with Bono,” he said, referring to the investor, activist and frontman of rock band U2, who has attended the Davos event in previous years.
January 21, 2010
Creepy Ways Your Social Media Data Can Be Used
TechNewsWorld
"2009 was a watershed year for social networks, with the numbers of people joining or expanding their use of these sites," Dallas Lawrence, chair of the digital and social media practice group at Levick Strategic Communications, told the E-Commerce Times. "The next stage, I believe, will be companies taking all this information [and] combining it with new search tools in order to sort through the trillions of data points available," Lawrence said.
January 21, 2010
Obama Knocks Down Goldman
Forbes
“Whenever a U.S. bank is profitable, it’s good for the U.S. economy and, in turn, the global economy” said Michael W. Robinson, former SEC spokesperson and senior vice president of Levick Strategic Communications. It indicates that companies are getting back into capital markets and is “a positive sign which means that the markets are beginning to function well again,” he added.
January 21, 2010
PV Mayor Targets Under-35 Set with Party
The Arizona Republic
Andrew Koneschusky, vice president of the public-affairs firm Levick Strategic Communications in Washington, D.C., said candidates often host fundraisers in unexpected places like nightclubs and restaurants. "Those events are a dual purpose, typically," Koneschusky said. "They do raise money, but not a lot of it. Typically, it's really to bring people into the fold of your campaign, expose them to your messages and to broaden your base. I can see a lot of young people, who might not be interested in coming to a more traditional, stuffy political fundraiser, coming to an event like this."
January 20, 2010
The Big Reset
Pharamceutical Executive
"The new leadership is positive for the industry," says Don Hannaford, senior vice president of Levick Strategic Communications. "[FDA Commissioner Margaret] Hamburg has taken on a broader mandate around a holistic view of health. FDA scientists should feel they're not going to get in trouble for making decisions."
January 20, 2010
Royal Caribbean Blasted for Continuing Stops in Haiti
Advertising Age
Gene Grabowski, senior VP-chair of crisis and litigation for Levick Strategic Communications, said Royal Caribbean's biggest mistake was not making its case about how it would help the local economy before the pictures came out. He believes that move could have gotten it some support from people like President Obama. "But that ship has sailed," Mr. Grabowski said. He noted that donations are all well and good, but don't translate visually. "They have the ships, why not commission a ship to deliver supplies or transport suffering people?" Mr. Grabowski said. "They need to do something that can create some visual impact. There's no picture when you donate money."
January 19, 2010
Protecting American Citizens or Themselves? DHS Needs to Change Its Attitude
Homeland Security Outlook
It would have been far better to approach the bombing attempt with a frequent, consistent message that the DHS is still looking for answers than rush to soothe the American public, says Michael Robinson, senior vice president of Levick Strategic Communications, a public relations firm that specializes in crisis communications. "You want to deactivate any criticism so you can focus on the going-forward element," he said. "You need to establish a communications predicate: 'thank God nobody was hurt,' thank the passengers, 'I'll be coming back in 30 days with specific recommendations,' this sort of thing."
January 14, 2010
Arenas Charged With Felony Gun Possession
WTOP
WTOP's Neal Augenstein talks with Gene Grabowski, Senior VP of Levick Strategic Communications, about how Gilbert Arenas can put himself into a position where the NBA and the Wizards can be willing to accept him back into the league.
January 1, 2010
Economic Tumult Forces CEOs to Consider Value of Visibility
PRWeek
While some CEOs are pushing a leadership position, the economy has made others focus on internal engagement, says Gene Grabowski, SVP at Levick Strategic Communications. "As the cult of the CEO grew in the '90s, egos became involved and CEOs spent too much of their time and energy communicating with the outside world and news media," he explains. "Now there is a much better appreciation of first speaking with your employees."