Fundamental PR Lessons from Last Year’s Big PR Messes

public relations mess with tangled wires and papers

For those who would rather learn from others’ mistakes than make the same ones themselves, last year was a treasure trove of wisdom. Nearly every week, some misstep or misdeed made the news, pushing brands and individuals into a glaring spotlight. But that’s no reason to be smug. Truth is, we’re all capable of making mistakes, errors in judgment or timing or tone that create PR issues we never intended. It’s the knowledge of our own fallibility that makes learning these lessons that much more important. So, while we may be willing to give these brands some latitude, we definitely don’t want to repeat their mistakes.

Equifax Waits Too Long

By now most of the civilized world knows about the massive data breach at Equifax. The credit reporting agency fell victim to hackers that accessed sensitive information belonging to nearly half the population of the United States. That news, in and of itself, would have been devastating, but the fact that the company waited several months to announce the breach enraged consumers who had no idea their data had been at risk since the spring. Equifax faced a no-win situation with the breach. They were going to have to make the announcement and take the proverbial beating in the press at some point. By waiting, they only made everything worse. But what happened next reached the realm of parody. It was announced that some Equifax executives sold off their stock between the time the company learned of the breach and when it was announced to the public. Trust in the brand, whose chief stock in trade is trust, plummeted.

BP Learns the Past Doesn’t Always Die

We all remember the 2010 BP oil spill. The accident despoiled Gulf beaches from Florida to Texas and created a massive – and expensive – PR crisis for the international oil company. Media consumers nationwide were reminded, yet again, of all the gory details in what, ostensibly should have been a positive story. In 2017, BP had reached a turning point in the company’s recovery from the oil spill crisis. But, under every headline touting that turnaround, somewhere about halfway down, was a detailed description of the oil spill. In the media business, this is establishing context. In the PR business, this is evidence of the truism that it’s tough to kill the past… even when announcing good news. The lesson here is that new incidents offer an opportunity for the past to be dragged back into the light. You may find yourself having to address issues you thought long since buried in the past. Both of these lessons deal with time, albeit from very different angles. The underlying lesson here is that time is always a factor in media relations and public relations, and it should never, ever be discounted or taken for granted.

Written by

Ronn Torossian

Ronn Torossian is Founder and Chairman of 5W , the AI Communications Firm. He founded 5W in 2003 and built it into one of the largest independent public relations and digital marketing firms in the United States, with senior practitioners serving corporate communications , consumer brands , technology , financial services , health and wellness , beauty , gaming , crisis communications , and public affairs . Under his leadership, 5W defined AI Communications, building brand authority across ChatGPT , Claude , Perplexity , Gemini , and Google AI Overviews, alongside earned media, digital, GEO, and influencer channels. Industry Recognition 5W has been recognized as a top U.S. PR agency by O’Dwyer’s , Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards , Grand Stevie Most Honored PR Agency, a Ragan Top Place to Work in Communications 2026, Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year, and a PRovoke Top 50 Global PR Agency. Torossian has been recognized with the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year twice, an EY Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist nomination, Business Insider Top Crisis Communications Professionals, and Crain’s New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Research Franchise 5W’s research franchise has become an industry reference for measuring brand visibility inside AI-generated answers, including the AI Visibility Index Series , The GEO Reckoning , The Missing Rung Report, and the 5W AI Power User Study , which identified a 99-point AI favorability gap. Crisis Communications Torossian is one of the world’s foremost crisis communications experts. He has counseled blue chip companies, public company boards, founders, and public figures through ransomware incidents, data breaches, regulatory investigations, high-stakes litigation, activist investors, product recalls, and reputational crises. He has taught crisis communications at Harvard University . Media & Commentary Torossian appears on CNN and CNBC . He is a contributing columnist for Forbes and the New York Observer , and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal , Entrepreneur , Adweek , PRWeek , and O’Dwyer’s . Published Work Torossian is the author of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations , now in its second edition and used in university and graduate communications programs. Owner and Publisher, Everything-PR Network Torossian is owner and publisher of the Everything-PR Network , an independent intelligence platform covering public relations, marketing, AI communications, and adjacent industries across 30 publications. Everything-PR is editorially independent from 5W, with published editorial standards and ethics standards . The network is one of the most-cited sources inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini for PR and marketing queries. He is also an active investor and advisor, a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) , and serves on nonprofit boards.

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