Reputation management and social media consultant Molly McPherson showed us in Ep. 25 of Lead Balloon how she herself was "Indestructible" following an on-assignment near-death experience. But these days, her consulting practice, her book, her podcast and her online courses all center on helping brands achieve an indestructible reputation. And, at this moment in time, there's no bigger buzz word in that field than "Cancel Culture." So, in this B-side clip from our Lead Balloon interview, Molly shares some thoughts about "Cancel Culture:" its roots, its real impact, and the key takeaways for organizations in a highly-charged mediascape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lead Balloon - Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Communications Disaster Stories

BONUS: What "Cancel Culture" Really Means for Reputation Management, with Molly McPherson

Established by President Jimmy Carter in the late 70’s, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has responded to every major American disaster over the last 40 years. But for all its many successes, FEMA is also an agency that has struggled with its image in the public eye. Its high-profile failures have dominated the conversation in the media and among the public. So when Molly McPherson went to work for FEMA in 2007 as a public affairs specialist, she pitched a bold new approach the put the agency front and center in telling its own story. But it would also put her and her team in the path of danger. And one sweltering day in Houston, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, that danger caught up to her, changing her career path and her life forever. In this episode, Molly details the story of her close call, and her colleague Mike Moore shares his own personal struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the time he spent in the trenches of FEMA's disaster recovery efforts. Join the Podcamp Media Email Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25. FEMA Rep Has Near-Death Experience After Hurricane Ike, with Molly McPherson & Mike Moore

There's nothing easy about striking out on your own as an independent marketing consultant. Work can be scarce and hard to come by, and when an opportunity does come along, there can be a lot of pressure to accept it no matter what. John Jantsch knows from experience. Before he was the founder, host and author of Duct Tape Marketing the agency, podcast and book, he was a go-getter looking to make his way as a consultant in Kansas City. But an association with one early client--a client that he wouldn't touch now as a wiser, more experienced marketer--was enough to get him called in front of a federal grand jury at the time. And he took away some valuable lessons about being discerning when it comes to whom you work with. We'll also glean some lessons from his more than 15 years as a podcaster, and catch a few tidbits from his new book.  John's new book is The Ultimate Marketing Engine: 5 Steps to Ridiculously Consistent Growth. --- Subscribe to the Podcamp Newsletter to score an invite to our upcoming studio grand opening in Milwaukee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24. The Dreaded Grand Jury Subpoena, with Duct Tape Marketing Founder John Jantsch

The George Washington Bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey is the world’s busiest motor vehicle crossing, carrying more than 103 million vehicles a year over the Hudson River.  And so in 2013, when accusations came out that hand-picked members of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s staff deliberately caused massive traffic backups on and around the bridge, the story made national headlines... and that was before revelations that the shenanigans were likely tied to political motivations. But for Anthony Hayes, the Bridgegate scandal was more than a flashy cable news headline. As the Assistant Director of Communications and Media at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, it was his job to manage the public relations fallout from the scandal. Anthony’s tale is a telling tutorial in managing the reputation of a public institution damaged by private petty partisanship. And his behind-the-scenes insights shed new light on a scandal that many say ended Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign before it really even had a chance to get off the ground.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23. Bridgegate: Behind the Scenes at the Port Authority During the 2013 Scandal, with Anthony Hayes

At Podcamp Media, we are *proudly* based in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Founder Dusty Weis explains why in this column he wrote from our friends at OnMilwaukee.com. (Music by Ghost Beatz) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BONUS: Bulletins From an NBA Title-Winning Terrible City

At Podcamp Media, we are *proudly* based in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Founder Dusty Weis explains why in this column he wrote for our friends at OnMilwaukee.com. (Music by Ghost Beatz) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Henry DeVries had to choose: a big fat raise and a promotion, or maintain his integrity. The year was 1996, and Henry was the Vice President of Public Relations at Foresters Financial. He had just found out about an ongoing affair between two high-ranking executives, and they had made their intentions clear. They wanted him to aid in the cover-up, for which he would be richly rewarded. But sticking to his principles was just the first lesson in what would become a crash course in scandal, marital infidelity, prostitution and executive embezzlement. And those principles of his would shortly become Henry's only life raft. Now a San Diego-based business coach, author, Forbes columnist, and the CEO of Indie Books International, Henry recalls the story today as a career-defining lesson that marked a turning point in his understanding of leadership. ------ Visit the Lead Balloon web page to sign up for our e-newsletter and stay looped in on a big upcoming announcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22. Scandal at Foresters Financial, with former VP of PR Henry DeVries

When Justin Shriber was the Vice President of Marketing for LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Solutions, he was charged with emceeing the social media juggernaut's Sales Leaders Summit mainstage. And with hip-hop legend and business magnate Russell Simmons lined up to serve as headliner, the hall was packed with people eager to hear Simmons's stories from the early days of hip-hop and his entrepreneurial awakening. Instead, what they got was a strange tirade from an uncooperative guest in front of an increasingly uncomfortable live audience, made even stranger by the fact that, within a few months, Russell Simmons would flee the country to escape criminal prosecution for a string of assault charges. These days, Justin is the Chief Marketing Officer at People.ai, an AI automation sales and CRM solutions provider. But in this episode, he looks back on this morality tale about the dangers of influencer marketing, relives the longest 45 minutes of his career, and recounts the lessons that he learned about planning a live event and relying on an unreliable celebrity. You can watch Justin's on-stage dance with Shaq right here. These two YouTube Videos were instrumental in researching this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21. Hip-Hop Mogul Russell Simmons Hijacks the Mainstage at LinkedIn's Sales Summit, with Justin Shriber

Three weeks after accepting a new role as an American Airlines spokeswoman in 1995, Jennifer R. Hudson was paged out of bed in the middle of the night. The worst had happened. Flight 965 had disappeared in the mountains of Colombia, and Jennifer needed to report to the scene of the crash to coordinate the company's public relations response. Unnerved and uncertain, she had to push aside her doubts and power through what would become one of the most harrowing experiences of her career. Jennifer would go on to serve as a Vice President of Communications for British Airways, a PR Manager at the Sabre Group, and eventually the head of her own independent agency, Think Beyond PR. But the experience of immersing herself in a tragedy that cost 159 lives sticks with her to this day, forging a set of PR instincts and resolve that have served her well. And for those of us who think we're having a hard day in the PR trenches, her tale is an important lesson in coping through pressure, humility and determination. ----- You can learn more about the crash of Flight 965 in this episode of Mayday, from which we sampled some expert interviews, survivor recollections and black box reenactments to help build context for Jennifer's story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20. Plane Crash in Colombia: American Airlines Flight 965, with Jennifer R. Hudson

Home to the Masters Tournament, the Augusta National Golf Club typically serves as a backdrop for sports drama. But in 2002, the club itself became the story, as its men-only membership policy came under the microscope in an unexpected and sensational showdown between women's rights activists and the club's defiant adherence to "tradition." The tale of how the conflict came to a head is an unlikely Public Relations parable in its own right, driven by two iconoclasts of their era: Augusta National chair Hootie Johnson and Dr. Martha Burk, the chair of the National Council of Women’s Organizations. And, as a signature sponsor of the Masters Tournament, Coca-Cola had to thread the PR needle, trying to land on the right side of history without alienating the powerful Augusta National Golf Club, the pro golf establishment and all of their supporters. In this episode, retired Coca-Cola Vice President of Communications Ben Deutsch shares his recollection of the showdown, and Dr. Martha Burk explains how she orchestrated an effective pressure campaign against Masters Tournament sponsors and Augusta National members. Plus, Ben Deutsch shares a few more tales from his tenure at Coca-Cola, and some of the important lessons he learned while overseeing the communications operation of one of the world's most recognizable brands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19. Coca-Cola and the Masters Tournament, with retired Coke Comms VP Ben Deutsch and Dr. Martha Burk

Check out Rocketship.fm! From our friends at the Podglomerate, Rocketship.fm is a podcast for entrepreneurs, product managers and anyone working in tech today. They break down the concepts you need to know, from Product Management to Growth, Sales to Funding. They'll bring you stories that will inspire and insights that will change the way you think about products and business.  In the early 2000's, eBay was in direct competition with Amazon, but they had very different methodologies when approaching the market. This episode dives into some of the mistakes eBay made in this time where they caught themselves focusing on the wrong metrics and the wrong side of the market. These mistakes ultimately led to the huge differences in the trajectory of where these companies are today. The guys from Rocketship talk with Ben Foster, the CPO at GoCanvas, about his time at eBay from 2001-2005 where he led the "findings" team internally. This episode is from Season 8 of this podcast, which homed in on product failures. You can get more Rocketship.fm here or wherever you listen to podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check Out Rocketship.fm's eBay Collapse Story

Before he went on to become Coca-Cola's global vice president of corporate communication, Ben Deutsch was plucked from his dream job in Coke's Sports PR section and dropped into a global media relations director role that he could only assume would be a snooze fest. As it turned out, he'd wind up as the media point person while the iconic brand navigated one of the most tumultuous periods in its 135-year history.  From a near-disaster at the 1998 World Cup to a soda-fueled health scare in Belgium, from a whistleblower suit that attracted the SEC's attention to an off-hand comment that jeopardized Deutsch's standing with the company's leadership, the former Coke executive opens up about his tenure with the global marketing juggernaut and shares insights from which communications professionals in any industry can learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18. Coca-Cola's Retired Comms VP Ben Deutsch on the 1998 World Cup, Coke's Belgium Health Scare and More

What constitutes "politics" in America has crept into new, ugly territory. And with the deadly Capitol insurrection on January 6, it finally became impossible for businesses to ignore the danger that rising nationalism poses to democracy. In minutes, that realization changed everything about the way businesses and organizations communicate about politics, and the Lincoln Project is a major force driving that shift. Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson is a political strategist, a former member of the Republican party, and a media consultant with a rich, broad background in the world of political ad strategy. And in this episode, we'll discuss the business imperative driving a growing number of conservative business organizations to turn on the modern Republican party. We’ll learn in-depth details about the strategic media offensive the Lincoln Project led against Donald Trump’s re-election. And we’ll discuss why, like it or not, the illusion separating the worlds of business and politics shattered on January 6th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17. The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson: Insurrection, Business Comms & Politics

With Covid-19 vaccination efforts finally getting underway, communicating properly about this process is critical to saving lives and re-opening the economy. That responsibility extends beyond the traditional bounds of public health communication, according to public health experts, and touches nearly every strategic communicator in the country--and indeed every American citizen. In this episode, we welcome back two past guests to the show. Bill Pierce was formerly a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services in the George W. Bush Administration. Today he’s a crisis communications consultant at APCO Worldwide and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. And Dr. Maria Sundaram is an epidemiologist and post-doctoral fellow at IC/ES, the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Toronto, and a global authority on Covid-19. These world-class public health communicators are in agreement that how we all communicate about the vaccination process going forward will play a major part in how many lives are saved. We’ll also explore what needs to happen from a StratComm standpoint, the best ways to deal with all the misinformation about vaccines, what went wrong in the last year, and why this could be a turning point in the war on Covid. Because if we do it right this time, communicators could still help save the world.  (Pictured in this week's podcast art: Dusty's hero, his wife, getting her vaccination as a frontline M.D.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16. Vaccine Messaging: How Comms Professionals Can Help Save the World from Covid

PR. Marketing. Strategic communications. When things go wrong in this business, it's never pretty, it's usually public, and it's always spectacular. Lead Balloon explores these tales of PR disasters, professional crises and half-baked campaigns gone awry, giving well-meaning communications professionals a platform to re-live the worst moments of their careers. Because sometimes, there are important lessons to be learned from someone else's worst day. And sometimes, it's just more convenient than group therapy. Lead Balloon is hosted by Dusty Weis, and launches in January 2020, with new episodes monthly.

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Lead Balloon - Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Com...

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