Crisis Communications Case Studies

The FBI seized their homepage on Thursday. The stock lost more than 70% by Friday. Their entire public response was eighteen words from outside legal counsel. That is not a crisis strategy.

Why authenticity wins long-term. The Walmart 2006 chaos. Tourneau vs. Wempe. Why pretending gets caught faster now than ever.

The first 48 hours. Product recall, sexual harassment, fraud, bankruptcy, government investigation. Why crisis communications is the highest-leverage PR work there is.

The central crisis communications case study library on ronntorossian.com. Named events, named brands, named outcomes, organized by industry.

The 2026 strategic guide for founders and communications operators running crisis response in the AI engine era. Seven structural shifts, seven-move playbook, and 16 case studies.

Ronn Torossian on United Airlines hiring Josh Earnest as chief communications officer — what the move says about multi-year institutional crisis recovery.

Ronn Torossian on Lance Armstrong — the 2018 settlement, the denial years that broke Livestrong, and what PR operators learn about named-principal becoming the brand.

Originally published: February 20, 2018 · Updated: June 16, 2026 In February 2018, Sony Pictures' Peter Rabbit opened number two at the U.S. box office behind Fifty Shades Freed and immediately ran into a coordinated ad

Ronn Torossian on the Penn State Piazza case — why a procedural legal win was not a reputation win, and the multi-year institutional discipline higher education requires.

Edited on Jun 17, 2026. Part of the master pillar index at ronntorossian.com/pillars . Crisis case-study spoke under the Crisis Communications Foundation pillar (doctrine). Named case studies live on the Crisis Communic

Ronn Torossian on Wells Fargo — the fake-accounts scandal, the frozen-accounts follow-on, and how two crises in twelve months locked the brand into the wrong story.

Ronn Torossian on the Bill O'Reilly firing — why Fox had to act fast, the advertiser exodus, and the lesson on cutting a tier-one principal to protect the institution.