Ok, so Toyota's apologized, now what?

They need to back up their words with sincere actions. They need to keep communicating about what they're doing to rectify the quality problems they have been having. They need to show their message about stronger customer focus instead of profits is communicated credibly.

Tiger Woods loses endorsement deal with Gatorade

Tiger Woods loses endorsement deal with Gatorade. He's mismanaged his response to this situation right from the start. There was a way to handle it that could have saved his relationships with sponsors.

Following the Adam Giambrone scandal with interest. Word is he's disconnected his phone lines and is hunkering down waiting for things to go away. Lacklustre responses allow the story to take control of you....you need to get out in front of the story and shape the message. Guess he didn't learn anything from the Tiger Woods ordeal.

A note about 'off the record'

When speaking with reporters, a spokesperson should treat the interview like nothing is 'off the record'. It's a good 'rule of thumb' to follow the guideline - if you wouldn't like to see it on the front page of a newspaper or splashed all over the internet, don't say it. Once the words are out of your mouth, you no longer have control over them. All you have is the reporter's word that it's going to remain off the record. Play it safe and stay on message throughout an interview.