We trouble-proof technology-driven companies from publicity crises before they happen.
I am veteran communications expert Drew Kerr, founder of publicity crisis prevention advisory The Four Corners Group.
Our team helps technology-powered companies avoid self-inflicted publicity blow-ups by catching problems BEFORE they see the light of day.
Preventing publicity crises is FAR less expensive and damaging than seeing a brand's reputation and business go up in smoke.
Working both on- and off-site, we objectively flag potential landmines and errors in your six prime communications channels that may hurt you and your company.
We propose smart, better-considered alternatives, keeping you on track and moving ahead.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Allison Michael Orenstein STYLING: On Camera Image Consulting
In today's fast-moving, unforgiving world,
everything you say and do is scrutinized.
You need a crisis early warning system,
not putting out a five-alarm fire.
More than ever before, both established companies and start-ups are in the cross-hairs of angry social media campaigns, political and cultural outrage, and even their own customers' wrath.
Often, it is unforced mistakes that wreck reputations and bottom lines.
"Hope for the best" is not a strategy anybody can afford to take.
In our long experience, most technology brand controversies originate internally for these reasons:
1) Lack of objective feedback.
2) Fear of saying "no" to flawed ideas.
3) Weak checks and balances let the wrong messages slip through.
4) Little bandwidth to check for errors, especially after layoffs.
5) Communications inexperience in companies top heavy with engineers, programmers, and salespeople.
The Four Corners Group solves all five of these problems.
You can call us your PR crisis prevention partner.
Anheuser-Busch Southwest Airlines
FedEx WarnerBros Discovery M&Ms Zoom
NFL's Washington Commanders MLB's Baltimore Orioles
THE GROWING LIST OF BRANDS THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED THEIR OWN DISASTERS...
...IF THE RIGHT INTERNAL GUARDRAILS WERE IN PLACE.
"We had a process failure internally that we will fix."
-- Zoom CEO Eric Yuan admits to the press the internal bungling of their new terms of service
HOW YOU WIN.
HOW WE WORK.
The costs of a publicity crisis, no matter how big or small, can run up into millions of dollars, impacting reputation, revenue, clients, staff, investors, and recovery, while leaving a permanent online legacy.
It is more practical and cost-effective when the fuse that lights a crisis is extinguished well in advance of it blowing up publicly. We focus on being ahead of the curve, operating early in the timeline.
The alternative is the "after the fact" route: sustaining major self-inflicted damage, then spending a fortune on a crisis communications firm to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
We are the best possible brand preservation resource: integrating a highly-accomplished, sensible and collaborative communications expert objectively reviews the six prime communications channels for possible missteps, flags them, assesses the damage risk, backs it up with research, and proposes potential solutions.
Everybody wishes they had "another set of eyes" to look over what they do before it goes out. Now you have them.
As seasoned independent consultants, you can expect our group to be forthright and honest, as well as active listeners.
If you do not have an emergency crisis plan in place, we will create one for you.
The Four Corners Group allows to you to grow your brand successfully with a positive halo and peace of mind.
PRESS RELEASES
EXECUTIVE STATEMENTS & MEMOS
WEB CONTENT
ADVERTISING
SOCIAL MEDIA
PROMOTIONS
DREW KERR
Founder and President
"Drew is exactly what you want from a communications expert: he's hard-working, dependable, clever, well-connected, and persistent. I've used Drew on behalf of several of my companies, each time with excellent results."
-- Michael Kubin, EVP
INVIDI Technologies
"There are simply too many positives to provide about him. However, the net net is that he is a partner in the truest sense of the word."
-- Keith A. Grossman, President
MoonPay
PHOTOGRAPHER: Allison Michael Orenstein STYLING: On Camera Image Consulting
My clients see me as a trusted and plainspoken adviser, as well as many other roles over the years: strategic coach, teacher, organizer, speaker, and relationship creator. One calls me his "third base coach."
After several years at CBS and Radio City Music Hall Productions, I opened up my own communications consultancy in 1990 to help founders and executives shape their visions -- sometimes from scratch. One of my earliest projects was rolling out AOL's then-new advertising and marketing platform.
I am interviewed by journalists about brand crises and changes, and write commentaries about communications strategies and best practices for Ad Age, Dow Jones Marketwatch, and Mediapost.
In October 2018, I was lucky enough to tell a story in front of a live audience at The Moth.
I spent many years delivering workshops to and mentoring first-generation American students at LaGuardia Community College's President's Society in Long Island City, NY.
As a communications veteran, nothing makes me happier than collaborating with great clients and steering them past the unnecessary pitfalls so many companies succumb to.
We trouble-proof technology-driven companies from publicity crises before they can happen.
Copyright 2023 Four Corners Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.