Reputation Town

Jeff Bezos, Lululemon, Ava Lane Boutique and the Montreal Canadiens

We're back! This week, John and Warren have lots of reputation-related stories to catch up on, including the odd Jeff Bezos press conference following his space flight, Lululemon's inadvertent diss of Physician Assistants and Ava Lane Boutique's errant email, the resulting viral TikTok and the company's attempted apology. And we round out this week's podcast by addressing the Montreal Canadiens' controversial draft pick and the team's subsequent efforts at damage control. We hope you enjoy this episode and thanks for listening!

Bezos vs Branson, Phylicia Rashad's tweet and how to prep for a media interview

This week, John and Warren ramble about the space race between Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, the pressure facing corporations re: social issues, the apology by sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson (who tested positive for cannabis), how to prepare for a media interview and more. 

 

Molly McPherson joins us to discuss Subway's tuna woes, Blade's imaginary spokesperson and more

It's a big week in Reputation Town because we have our first visitor and it's none other than Molly McPherson, a PR/comms, crisis response, media relations expert and author of Indestructible: Reclaim Control and Respond with Confidence in a Media Crisis. In this week's episode, we ramble about the allegations of 'fake' tuna at Subway, the admission by the CEO of Blade that he used an imaginary media spokesperson for three years, IKEA's Juneteenth menu debacle, a Canadian pastor putting his foot in his mouth regarding the residential school situation and more. We're also giving away four copies of Molly's book to you, our listeners. Instructions for entering the contest are in the first few minutes of the episode. Thanks to Molly for joining us and thanks to you for taking the time to listen. 

Steroid burritos, a bad hockey apology, the Return of the Toobinator and more

In this episode, John and Warren ramble about the athlete who blamed a positive steroid test on a burrito, CBC getting rid of reader comments on Facebook, the anatomy of a (bad) NHL apology, Jeffrey Toobin's awkward apology on CNN, Roger Waters tearing a strip off Mark Zuckerberg and more.

Tennis and press conferences, Tobi's 'we're not a family' email and 'Should you ask for a correction?'

This week, John and Warren ramble about the Naomi Osaka situation, the email from Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke to staff stating that the company is not a family but rather a team, a deep discussion about when you should and shouldn't ask a journalist for a correction and a great media interview by Mohamad Fakih, the founder of Paramount Fine Foods, in the aftermath of a fire that gutted one of his flagship restaurants. 

John Cena vs China, Kyle Dubas vs the Toronto Sun and CEO statements

In this episode, John and Warren ramble about the recent John Cena/Fast and the Furious controversy, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas's slamming of The Toronto Sun, the nature of CEO crisis statements and more. 

Revisiting our Ellen prediction, Elon hosting SNL and the Doug Ford 'protect the King' strategy

In this week's episode, John and Warren ramble about Ellen's announcement that she's quitting her show (and our predictions of that from last month), the reputational impact of Elon Musk hosting SNL, the implications of the 'protect the king' strategy being used by Doug Ford's handlers, off-topic banter and more. 

Peloton's crisis response, selfies with Trump, the NHL's discipline issues and more

In this episode, John and Warren ramble about Suzanne Rogers posting a selfie with Donald Trump, Peloton's handling of the crisis involving its treadmill, Tom Wilson versus the New York Rangers versus the NHL and more. 

Vaccine rollouts, pong-playing primates and the long-term care sector

In this episode, John and Warren ramble about the PR issues around the vaccine rollout, monkeys playing Pong with their minds and the long-term care sector's general mishandling of the media relations aspects of the ongoing pandemic. 

Big brands picking sides, Facebook's poor communications and trust in journalism

This week, John and Warren ramble about the trend toward large brands choosing sides re: social issues, Facebook's response to its latest privacy breach and a recent survey that said 49% of Canadians think journalists are intentionally trying to mislead them.