Inauguration Week — Comms Winners & Losers

Inauguration Week — Comms Winners & Losers

Author: OCR January 24, 2025 Duration: 24:31
Communication Breakdown
Business NewsNewsBusinessManagementMarketing
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll discuss the implications of President Trump's second inauguration, focusing on his inaugural speech, the chaos of his administration, and how companies can navigate this unpredictable environment. They analyze the responses from corporate leaders, particularly Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan's response to President Trump during the World Economic Forum. The episode also covers the week's winners and losers in the corporate world, emphasizing the need for compassion in leadership and the pitfalls of miscommunication, particularly in the case of Mark Zuckerberg.

Takeaways
  • Agility in corporate communication is essential, not optional.
  • No one speaks for Trump; he is the sole decision-maker.
  • Chaos communications require a focus on core principles and values.
  • Leaders should encourage diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink.

Topics Mentioned
Trump, Inauguration, Corporate Communication, Chaos Communications, Public Sentiment, Tariffs, Business Strategy, Reputation Management

Companies Mentioned
Capital One Arena, Twitter, Facebook, European Central Bank, Meta


Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Communication Breakdown
00:28 Inauguration Day Highlights
01:19 Trump's Inaugural Speech Analysis
05:30 Chaos Communications in the Trump Era
10:04 Navigating Corporate Responses to Trump's Chaos
11:28 The Response to Trump’s World Economic Forum
15:41 Winners and Losers of the Week
19:22 The Importance of Compassion in Leadership
20:50 Zuckerberg's Missteps and Corporate Image

Communication Breakdown is a production of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation.
Hosted by Craig Carroll and Steve Dowling.
Produced by Shawn P Neal and the team at AdvoCast.

For questions, feedback, or episode suggestions, reach out at podcast@ocrnetwork.com

Communication Breakdown is a sharp, fast-moving podcast for PR and communications pros who want to understand what really happens when reputations are on the line. Hosted by OCRs Craig Carroll and Steve Dowling, each postgame-style episode breaks down how organizations navigate high-visibility crises, product launches, policy debates, and other make-or-break moments in the public eye. Drawing on experience from institutions like USC Annenberg, UNC Chapel Hill, OpenAI, and Apple, the hosts dissect real-world cases, exploring what worked, what failed, and why. Listeners can expect candid analysis of messaging, leadership, media strategy, stakeholder management, and internal alignment, all grounded in current events across news and business. Whether youre in marketing, management, or corporate communications, listen episodes of Communication Breakdown to sharpen your judgment, stress-test your own strategies, and better anticipate how communications decisions play out when it matters most.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 79

Official website RSS
linkedinspotify
Communication Breakdown
Podcast Episodes
Special Deliveries [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:55
Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine two very different communication moments with the same core question underneath them: what happens when credibility gets tested in public. First, they analyze Pope Leo XIV’s unusua…
Context is King [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:14
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine two very different communications tests: Nestlé’s playful response to the theft of 400,000 KitKat bars, and Air Canada’s damaging leader…
Spring Break Bonanza [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:45
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll revisit key moments from the first quarter, focusing on how companies responded to politically charged events and public pressure. They examine…
Friendly skies vs. strong headwinds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:21
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine how United and Delta communicated through a punishing week for the airline industry, marked by soaring fuel costs, geopolitical instabil…
Chalamet’s Choke, Daryl’s Splash [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:18
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack how Timothée Chalamet’s Oscar campaign unraveled despite strong box office performance and critical acclaim. They examine how an aggressi…
McMisfire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:33
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll analyze two very different communications moments playing out in public view. First, they examine a viral Instagram video featuring McDonald’s C…
Iran, Earnings, and … TACOs? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:20
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down two parallel realities corporate communicators now have to manage at once. First, they analyze how the White House communicated the o…
Tariff Turnabout, Milan Meltdown [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:11
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling that last year’s emergency tariffs were illegally imposed, throwing $175 billion in collected duties into…
Silence & Subpoenas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:34
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine a Bloomberg column arguing that America’s most powerful CEOs have gone conspicuously quiet in the Trump era. They unpack the idea of a “…
The Outspoken Olympians [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:40
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine three threads that dominated the week: U.S. Olympic athletes speaking on America while competing in Milan, the privacy backlash to Ring’…

12345...8»