[Defuse® Podcast] When Crisis Hits: The Real Cost of Getting Reputation Wrong

[Defuse® Podcast] When Crisis Hits: The Real Cost of Getting Reputation Wrong

From The Grayling Media Podcast by Grayling UK

June 26, 2025 · 58 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the critical importance of reputation management during crises and the evolving landscape of communication strategies.

Heather Blundell (CEO, Grayling UK) and James Clothier (Head of Crisis, Grayling UK) joined Phillip Grindell to discuss how reputation management has become essential protection. Key insights: Most crisis failures stem from human behaviour under pressure, not poor messaging. Female executives face different reputation attacks requiring specific strategies. Social media breaks stories before traditional media responds. Video responses are replacing written statements as authenticity matters more than polish. Heather revealed that proactive reputation management creates a competitive advantage, not just damage limitation. The conversation covers timing challenges, the importance of an external perspective, and why lawyers often make statements worse by stripping out emotion. They discuss how social media has transformed crisis response - young people get news from Snapchat, stories break on Twitter first, and video content is becoming essential. The practical advice focuses on being honest, letting the light in, and demonstrating genuine change rather than just promising to "learn lessons." Heather Blundell’s Biography: Heather is the award-winning UK CEO of Grayling, a…

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