The chief of the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers, Richard S. Fuld Jr., told irate members of Congress that all his decisions “were both prudent and appropriate” given the information he had at the time.

The chief of the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers, Richard S. Fuld Jr., told irate members of Congress that all his decisions “were both prudent and appropriate” given the information he had at the time.

Often, individual companies need to defend the reputation of their brand.  They often ask PR firms, like Vehr Communications, to help.

The CEO of Lehman Brothers found himself defending his company (and himself) on Capital Hill yesterday as discussed in the NYT (10.6.08 – story by Bernie Becker and Ben White) with this photo by Doug Mills.

From Bear Stearns to Lehman Brothers to AIG to Merrill Lynch to Indy Mac to Fannie Mae to Freddie Mac, the financial services industry has been slammed.  Some say it is well deserved.  Others are charged with protecting and preserving brand equity.  This post is for them.

Yesterday evening, NPR ran an interesting story that was all about reputation management in tough times for independent community banks (link to hear the story). 

Apparently, the times are not so tough for all banks.  Members of the Independent Community Banks of America (ICBA) seem to be weathering the storm well.  Apparently, many investors and individuals see community banks as a safe haven from the turmoil of the big guys.

The link above is to ICBA’s recently released PR Campaign for its members to personalize within their markets.  Basically, the trade association has developed a comprehensive plan with a whole menu of tactics to better enable its members to protect and preserve their brand equity and even enhance their reputation. 

In this case, there’s little doubt that the real gain from protecting brand equity is increased deposits.  Nothing wrong with that!

I offer no comments on the quality of the materials provided.  Kudos to ICBA for thinking ahead on behalf of its members.  They know that newsrooms across America (online and offline) will soon begin looking for the silver lining in the storm cloud of financial crisis, assuming the storm cloud clears just a bit. 

This one trade association clearly understands the value, efficiency and effectiveness of PR at a time of crisis and were proactive on behalf of those who matter most to them – their members.  Good for them.