Alfred Angelo Bridal Causes PR Disaster

This past month Alfred Angelo Bridal has caused quite the uproar with the closing of their stores nationwide. The company closed their doors after nearly 80 years in business with no warnings to their employees or brides-to-be. Many brides were left without word of where their dress was, whether it was going to be located, or whether they would be able to obtain a refund. Some were lucky enough to obtain their dresses right before the company closed the doors.

One can only image what a mess this has made for the company’s publicists. As someone in PR I think there are many ways that this situation could have been avoided. With the knowledge that they were going out of business Alfred Angelo Bridal should have informed employees and brides that their stores were closing. This would have given employees enough time to find new work and more time for brides to either get their refund or get their dress faster. Their publicists would have had an easier time doing damage control had they taken that route instead of keeping everyone in the dark.

So why did Alfred Angelo not make it known that they were going out of business? Probably because they were embarrassed to announce that they were filing for bankruptcy and because chances are they didn’t and still don’t have the money to give brides refunds. Hopefully, brides are able to get their dresses sorted out in time for their big day!

Written by Tiffany Jackson from Rebecca Adele PR & Events

OH MY GOP?! Don’t Ignore Crisis Communications!

Planning ahead of time is a convenient way to manage your time. It’s also never a bad thing to get things done ahead of time. However, it is not good to declare the winner of the Vice-Presidential debate 90 minutes before the event’s salutations.

It comes to question how one could make such proclamations before the event unfolds because as we see with this premature announcement, things do not always go as planned.

The text of the story, posted at the Republican website, reads:

Americans from all across the country tuned in to watch the one and only Vice Presidential debate. During the debate we helped fact check and monitor the conversation in real time @GOP. The consensus was clear after the dust settled, 

Mike Pence was the clear winner of the debate.

Mike Pence’s top moments from the debate:

- Economy

- Highlighting Hillary’s scandals

Mike Pence made the most of his opportunity to debate Hillary’s VP pick Tim Kaine. The other clear winner from tonight’s debate was Donald Trump. His running mate perfectly shared Trump’s vision to make America great again and that message is resonating with Americans all across the country.

An unusual yet “usual” way the GOP addressed the mistake was as if it never happened. The GOP replaced the page with this:

That’s it? Sweep it under the rug?? Where is the crisis communication???

A vital step in crisis communication is to be open and never deny responsibility when it is clearly your fault. Not addressing the crisis is the same as denying it and in the age of social media of course it was caught! Not doing this can damage credibility.

Own your error and “save face” with the public.

Written by Marisha Daniels of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Melania Trump Plagiarizes Michelle Obama’s 2008 Convention Speech

The RNC was filled with exciting, and interesting speeches last night. Most notable was potential first lady, Melania Trump who delivered the night’s headlining speech in what was her first spotlight moment since she married Donald Trump 11 years ago. The crowd praised the speech, but her remarks almost immediately came under scrutiny when parts of it sounded familiar to those of First Lady, Michelle Obama at the Democratic convention in 2008.

Jarrett Hill, a twitter user whose biography describes him as an interior designer and journalist, apparently first noticed the resemblance. However, Mrs. Trump said in an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC before her speech that she just reviewed it once. “I wrote it with as little help as possible,” she stated.

Mr. Trump’s aides declined to identify whom, if anyone, on the campaign helped in writing her speech. Mr. Trump’s main speechwriter is Stephen Miller, and campaign’s chief strategist, Paul Manafort, has managed the convention program and speakers.

In a statement released, a campaign spokesman, Jason Miller, praised Mrs. Trump’s speech, which he stated was written by other people he did not identify with. He did not directly address the similarities to Mrs. Obama’s speech, but he indicated that Mrs. Trump had “included fragments” from other people. “In writing her beautiful speech, Melania’s team of writers took notes on her life’s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking,” Mr. Miller said. “Melania’s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it a success.”

Although this speech has made headlines, and has started a controversy, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has no plans to fire anybody on the campaign or to take any disciplinary action against anyone for plagiarism.

Written by Lexie Gomez from Rebecca Adele PR & Events