We have finally had a moment to catch our breath after the 11 days and 230+ events of Leeds Digital Festival 2019 and it is safe to say that the Crisp team have enjoyed every minute of it. 

From hosting three events and speaking at the Women in Leeds Digital (WiLD) conference, we were also drawn to attend a variety of other events across the city, interacting and engaging with others who are as passionate about the digital world as we are.

Leeds Digital Festival, the largest digital event in the North, returns to the northern capital for 2019. Crisp is an official sponsor of the festival and will host three exciting events as well as presenting at the Women in Leeds Digital conference. 

Running from the 23^rd of April until the 3^rd of May, 189 events from over 400 companies are already listed to take place across Leeds. The 20,000 event attendees also include international interest from China, Hong Kong, and the US.

Technology is at the very heart of Crisp: we use cutting-edge AI combined with human risk intelligence to provide the fastest and most accurate detection of critical issues online for global brands and platforms. Our technology not only helps to save brands and platforms from a crisis, but save lives too. We are therefore very excited to host three free events at the festival that illuminate the scope and power of our tech, as well as having key members of our team speak at the first ever Women in Leeds Digital (WiLD) Conference.

Each PR issue has the potential to mutate into a brand damaging crisis. Our research reveals that 2018 saw 15.6% of issues detected on social media being flagged as a high PR risk to the brand’s reputation. Sometimes, it is the brand that is deemed to be at fault for such incidents. A self-made crisis may take the shape of a product recall, outspoken CEOs, or social media misjudgements, and responsibility lands directly in your hands.

A left-field crisis can take even the most prepared PR teams by surprise. The nature of these crises means they can come from anywhere and can be generated by anything from an unanticipated news story, poor weather, to a terrorist attack. 

Maybe it is the start of your vacation, the holiday shut-down period, or perhaps it is just another Friday evening. Whatever the situation, it often means work mobiles are switched off, emails are re-directed, and a skeleton staff are managing the office - and the brand's social media.

Sadly, PR issues do not operate on a schedule. With 4.02 billion internet users world wide, any of of these could create an issue with a single social media post at any moment, regardless of working hours. This means that holidays, weekends, or even the middle of the night can create the perfect conditions for an issue to mutate into a full blown crisis. 

As part of our guest blog series from leading professionals, here Stacy Jones, CEO of Hollywood Branded, shares her experience and top tips for getting the most out of your influencer partnerships and avoiding nasty PR crisis-provoking surprises. 

On Sunday February 4, fans of the NFL gathered to cheer their team to victory and, of course, enjoy the commercials that have come to define the spectacle almost as much as the football.

Super Bowl LIII is just two days away and the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams are vying for the championship title. The teams won’t be the only ones vying for hearts and minds on Sunday – advertisers will be too.

CHANEL has been named the ‘Most Loved Luxury Fashion Brand of 2018’ in our latest report – the Luxury Social Reactions Index.

With Christmas campaigns scheduled, PR teams across the globe may be merrily clocking off for the holidays but our Head of Trust and Safety, Emma Monks, raises a note of caution: the holidays are also “a perfect storm for crisis” as highlighted to PRNews Editor, Seth Arenstein.