Russian invasion of Ukraine offers clear imperative for speed in crisis comms

Crisis comms pros know that speed is everything when responding to a breaking news event.

In the case of the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the data offers a stark contrast between being fast, and a tad too slow. A new report from Caliber looks at how consumer trust levels in companies can change based on corporate responses to the Russian invasion of its western neighbor.

The report identifies Unilever and Danone, two companies that sell food products in Russia, and tracks how each have addressed ongoing business operations in the country despite sanctions from hundreds of governments that oppose the Russian invasion.

Unilever, the parent company of food and home goods brands like Hellman’s and Knorr, said it would continue to sell goods in Russia to citizens who are not directly responsible for the conflict and would suffer if the company withdrew.

Danone, a food and consumer packaged goods corporation with a similar brand portfolio, sent a similar message — but unlike Unilever, Danone has lost a lot of ground on consumer trust.

(image via Caliber)

The difference