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
50 Ways to Botch Your Layoffs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:26
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down two corporate communication failures shaping headlines this week. First, they explore the Wall Street Journal’s catalog of mass-layof…
Make Palantir Make Sense [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:40
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine Alex Karp’s high-volume media tour and the communications strategy behind Palantir’s recent spotlight moment. They break down Karp’s con…
PR in the Age of Rage [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:36
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack the major themes from the 2025 PRovoke Global Summit in Chicago — from the rise of the “Richilante” to the paradoxes shaping corpor…
Toyota’s Truth-Telling, Shutdown Comms Playbook [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:46
When the President rewrites your press release, how fast do you fact-check him?In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down how Toyota calmly but firmly corrected Donald Trump af…
Salesforce Majeur [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:56
Last week’s misstep made headlines. This week’s silence made it worse.In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll revisit the unraveling of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s leadership narrati…
Benioff's Unforced Error [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:06
When your CEO lands a New York Times profile to kick off your flagship conference, the headlines shouldn’t be about the National Guard.In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll analyze S…
Who Framed Bad Bunny [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:51
The headlines say outrage.The data says: not a thing.In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down two cases where reputation was on the line — and how silence, when strategic, ca…
Signals and Noise [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:42
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll dissect how companies are mistaking noise for signal—and paying the price. From the surprising data behind Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension fallout at…
Kimmel’s back. Does Disney Have His Back? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:43
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll mark the podcast’s one-year anniversary with a deep dive into two high-stakes moments in corporate communications. First, they break down…
The Sound of Silence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:11
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, hosts Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack the reputational risks of corporate silence in a post-Kimmel suspension media landscape. With Jimmy Kimmel pulled off-air by ABC fo…

«12345678»