Frequently asked questions
Crisis engagements, answered.
How quickly can Five Blocks respond to a crisis situation? +
We can begin a crisis engagement promptly once engaged. Our team is structured for rapid mobilization, and we have dedicated capacity for crisis work.
Does Five Blocks work with individuals as well as companies? +
Yes. We work with high-net-worth individuals, executives, public figures, and celebrities alongside corporate clients. Individual reputation management has its own specialized methodology, and we have deep experience in it.
What makes Five Blocks different from a general PR firm handling digital reputation? +
General PR firms typically manage media relationships. Five Blocks manages the technical and content infrastructure that determines what the internet, and AI, says about you. These are different skills, different tools, and different expertise. Most PR firms partner with us rather than compete with us.
Can Five Blocks actually change what AI models say about a client? +
Yes, through legitimate, structural means. We improve the underlying sources that AI models read: corporate website content, Wikipedia, earned media citations, entity signals. When those sources improve, AI-generated narratives improve. This is not a hack or a workaround. It is how AI reputation management works.
Do you outsource any of your work? +
No. All Five Blocks work is done in-house by our team. We do not use white-label vendors or offshore execution.
How much does a Five Blocks crisis engagement cost? +
Crisis engagements are structured as monthly retainers, typically ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 per month depending on scope and resourcing. Some situations resolve in one to two months; engagements involving larger companies or sustained news cycles often run six months or longer. Fees are tied directly to the scope of the work and the resources required to execute it.
How quickly will we see measurable results? +
In most engagements, we see measurable impact within the first one to two weeks, with significant improvements over the course of two to three months. Full programs can run longer because the goal is not a band-aid. It is a durable, long-term solution that holds up after the immediate crisis subsides.
What types of crises does Five Blocks handle? +
We work on crisis situations for both brands and individuals. On the brand side, this includes transactions, poor earnings, safety concerns, product recalls, negative product reviews, and broader industry-related issues. For individuals, we handle negative press, defamation, and other reputation challenges that surface in search and AI results.
Does Five Blocks remove negative content from the internet? +
Whenever it is possible and appropriate, yes. We pursue removals through direct outreach to site owners and factual correction requests, and in cases where a defunct site is hosting defamatory content, we have even purchased sites and blogs on behalf of clients. Where a legal angle exists, we advise clients on how to use it. Removal is not always feasible, which is why our broader methodology focuses on shaping what surfaces in Google and AI results regardless.
Is your work confidential? +
Yes. All of our work is confidential, without exception.
How does Five Blocks report progress to clients? +
Clients receive formal progress reports on a monthly cadence, supplemented by weekly and ad-hoc updates as developments occur. IMPACT™ and AIQ provide continuous, real-time visibility into Google search results and AI narratives, so clients always have a current picture of where they stand.
How is Five Blocks different from traditional ORM or suppression firms? +
Traditional ORM firms tend to fight the algorithm. We work with the platforms. Our team understands where Google and AI models source their content and how they prioritize it, and we help clients ensure their preferred narrative, stories, and links are seen and prioritized within those systems. We work hand-in-hand with clients’ CCOs and PR teams to curate that narrative, not against the algorithm or AI logic, but in alignment with how it actually works.
Do you work with clients outside the United States? +
Yes. We work with clients on several continents and in many countries and languages. From our offices in New York and Jerusalem, we track search results in more than 500 locations and over 25 languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, and our methodology adapts to the search and AI ecosystems clients face in each market.
What happens after a crisis engagement ends? +
It depends on the client. In some cases, once the crisis is resolved, no further work is needed. For companies and organizations with ongoing news cycles, where the same stories can resurface, we offer ongoing maintenance programs to keep the preferred narrative durable over time.
Can Five Blocks move existing negative results off page one of Google? +
Yes, and we do it primarily by curating a client’s broader online presence rather than by attacking the negative results directly. That means making preferred content robust, readable by Google and AI models, and optimized to surface. We study what is working for peers and seize every opportunity available: website changes, new profiles, video content, images, FAQs, articles on third-party sites, earned media. PR and comms do their work; we do the technical, structural, and content optimization work hands-on, and the two together move the results.
