Crisis Communications: Cleaning Up the Mess

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Crises are inevitable, failure is not.
The media love a comeback: Think Mariah Carey, Newt Gingrich, maybe even Eliot Spitzer. According to Public Relations, a Values-Driven Approach, the third stage of a crisis is the cleanup: minimize damage and move forward. Celebrities usually step out of the limelight and re-invent themselves. But companies cannot do that. They must move forward.

Be quick about it.
JBS Swift Beef Company recently recalled about 41,000 pounds of beef because of possible E. coli contamination. The recall was voluntary. No illnesses were reported. But because the company handled the recall "swiftly," it quickly ended this element of the crisis.

Get through it and get on with it. This doesn’t mean ignoring it. Ignoring a crisis won’t necessarily make it go away. The U.S. military's Defense Information School emphasizes "maximum disclosure, minimum delay."

The end is the best part.
All good stories have a resolution. People are human; everyone makes mistakes; accidents happen. But how do you plan to keep them from happening again? Are you fixing the problem? Show the media you are serious.

I recently reported on a PetSmart employee whose dog attacked another dog at the store. There were accusations the manager was violating company policy. Days later, she was back at work. The company had not put her on leave. Viewers didn’t understand why PetSmart wasn’t taking the matter more seriously.

Tip: Reporters often work non-stop with no real breaks. When hosting a news conference that requires crews to set up early, set out some juice or cookies. It takes the edge off and might make them less crabby. Consider it a courtesy, not a bribe.

Crisis Communications: Protecting Your Brand

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A Public Relations Nightmare

Politics aside, Sarah Palin is a public relations nightmare.

Her recent decision to resign as Alaska's governor stunned the political world. She claims she does not want to become a lame-duck governor and waste the state's money on defending against accusations of ethical wrongdoing. But no one is buying it. And now the media are speculating the “real reasons” behind the resignation.

Deal with the issue head-on so the media can move on.
Online Marketer Joanna Orcutt says to manage your reputation, you need to address your audience. When racism became an unavoidable issue in Barack Obama’s campaign, he interrupted his campaign schedule to deliver a speech on the matter. It is considered one of his best moments.

Change the Story
If you can’t let the crisis blow over, Branding Expert Nevil Darukhanawala says, “The best way to beat negative publicity is to increase positive publicity.” When you don’t like the story, change it. Reporters call this “feeding the beast.” Give the media something else to chew on and they might stop eating you alive.

Take the High Road
When David Letterman recently joked about Palin's daughter getting “knocked up” at a Yankee’s game, Palin should have stayed cool. I’m not saying she should not have responded. I am saying she should not have dragged out the issue.

She should not have justified Letterman’s crack with an on-camera comeback. Next time: issue a written statement and be done with it. Letterman is late night comedy. Let it go or let political surrogates fight this one. Don’t tarnish your brand by getting bogged down in bad PR.

Tip: When you need to release information that could damage your brand, try the approach politicians use … release the information on a Friday afternoon, when most people aren’t paying attention. Yes, the story might get a lot of play over the weekend (when news is slow), but it could be old news by Monday (when people start tuning in again). Sneaky, I know.

Crisis Communications: A Reporter’s Point of View

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Prescription for Better PR

As I write, I imagine the makers of Tylenol with a splitting headache. Tuesday the FDA announced acetaminophen – Tylenol’s main ingredient -- is a leading cause of liver failure. While Tylenol prepares to respond, stakeholders are watching …

Beware of Body Language: Don’t focus so much on how you respond that you overlook how you act.

When five employees became trapped in an underground hydroelectric plant, reporters flocked to the scene. The company was communicating with stakeholders and regularly briefing reporters on rescue efforts. But at the 5:00 p.m. briefing, the usually-prompt and friendly spokeswoman was late and looked angry. Her demeanor had changed and -- we knew – so had the story. Her body language put the company in the awkward position of notifying next of kin while denying reporters the truth. The rescue was now a recovery.

Never Say “No Comment:” Refusing to answer one question only raises more questions.

Recently a friend asked me how PR professionals should respond when they cannot answer the reporter’s question. Reporters don’t expect to get every question answered, they must, however, be sure they get every question asked. When you can’t answer, say why you can’t answer. If you don’t know, say so. If you are not at liberty to say something, say that.

Tip: When crises develop, prepare a response for every scenario, not just the one you want.

Crisis Communications: It's Go Time

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Phase II: Point of No Return
This is when you are forced to act. It’s go time. It's your chance to shine.



Be ready. Avoiding the issue will not make the story go away, it will make the story bigger.

In Public Relations A Values Driven Approach, David Guth says accurate and timely communication is key. Stories can go viral in just hours. Janet Harris, of Upstream Analysis, advises her clients, “You can’t be reluctant," miss the early signals of a crisis or take a day to debate before issuing a press statement.

NASA learned this after the Challenger explosion. The agency went silent for five hours after the accident. But nearly 20 years later -- when Columbia broke apart on re-entry -- it declared a “Shuttle Contingency” within 15 minutes.

Don’t Create Your Own Crisis. If you won’t talk, your competition, critics, disgruntled employees or customers will. Recently I reported on how well-prepared area schools were for Swine Flu. One PIO took forever to return calls and then said “everything is on our website.” The plan was a year-old. The second district touted a huge pandemic plan and explained their strategy. On the news that night, the first district wreaked of vulnerability, the second came off smelling like a rose.

Tip: Know Your PR Reputation. This is where the “R” in PR is important. Reporters remember when you blow them off. And if you have earned a reputation as a “useless tool” on daily stories, don’t expect any newsroom favors come crisis time.

Crisis Communications: A Word of Caution

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A Perfect Example of Bad PR

In the middle of the night, the nationwide travel company ceased operations. Tens of thousands of airline passengers who relied on their Verified Identity Pass -- and had paid big money for its service -- were out of luck. The company emailed clients the data was safe, but the money was gone. It then took down its website and stopped answering the phone. As a reporter covering the issue, my only source of information was an evasive email, travel industry critics and upset passengers. There was no one to speak on behalf of the company.

It was a lesson in what not to do.

Crisis Communications 101:

According to Public Relations, a Values-Driven Approach, there are four stages of a crisis:

1. The warning stage: when there is still time to act
2. The point of no return: when the crisis is unavoidable and you are forced to react
3. The cleanup: where you try to minimize damage and move forward
4. Normal: or really, the new normal.

The Warning Stage is the most critical point of a crisis. It is when you have the most power to change the outcome. I have always told PR professionals that the best way to head-off a crisis is to get in front of it.

“During a crisis, many companies are "too slow" to identify that they have a problem, says CUNA's Rick Amme. "It's better to give the media something than nothing and then become road kill… people will want to know when you learned about the problem and what you did to fix it."

TIP: After losing nearly $82 billion and filing for Chapter 11 protection, General Motors launched its Reinvention campaign on Youtube and Facebook. Strategic Public Relations says “The company is being as transparent as possible to tell their story on what’s next.”

And it may be working, Business Week’s Jon Fine reports “GM’s positive mentions online have picked up significantly in the two weeks since the ad began airing.”

When You Don't Want to Talk

Don't "Just Say No"

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Most reporters do not take “no” for an answer … at least not the first answer. So when a reporter calls, consider this before saying “no.”

Will the story go away without you? If not: start influencing it from the beginning. You don't want a reporter talking smack about you/your company for two minutes on the 10pm news and then tag the story with. “The company is not commenting.”

I recently reported on budget cuts for the Sheridan (CO) fire department. The fire fighters didn’t want to talk; fearing negative press might cost them their jobs. But think about it. The city manager was ready to propose cuts before we covered the story. I also reminded the firemen the story was really about THEM and if they wanted public support, the public would need to hear from them. They agreed to talk to us and were pleasantly surprised by the finished product.

If you talk to the reporter, will your interview “give legs” to the story?

When the Denver Nuggets made it to the playoffs, the Pepsi Center reneged on a deal to host a WWE Monday night match. The scheduling snafu blew up into a virtual fist fight between WWE’s Vince McMahon and Stan Kroenke. McMahon, went on a media blitz blabbing about how horrible Kroenke was. Kroenke stayed quiet.

It might have seemed like a flub on Kroenke’s part, but it wasn’t. The Nuggets going to the playoffs was the real story: one Kroenke wanted told. By not commenting, Kroenke didn’t give the story legs. McMahon had the last word, but the next day’s news was about the Nuggets.

The average soundbite lasts about eight seconds, so figure out what your point is and stick to it. Politicians do this all the time. Barack Obama wanted to talk about hope. George W. Bush wanted to talk about security. Steve Forbes focused on the flat tax. Harvard Business Services, Inc, George Merlis suggests two elements: an agenda and the "words that make that agenda come alive."

What are the landmines? What negative spin might the reporter take? Get the facts and have a ready response before going on record.

Keep in mind, most reporters write the facts into their script and save your most emotional soundbite for the piece. Express yourself wisely. Remember when Bill Clinton blew up at FOX News' Chris Wallace? It wasn't what he said that got attention, it was the emotion he showed that made headlines.

Tip: Mark Bernheimer at Mediaworks Resource Group says there are four types of questions you don’t answer: "Questions you don’t know, questions you don’t understand, questions better suited for other people and questions that call for speculation."

Teach the Old Dog Some New Tricks

I recently received a great question from a friend of mine. He manages strategic communications for the city of Marietta, Georgia and wanted to know how to get reporters to start checking the city’s online newsroom.

They need to be retrained.

Reporters like to get the latest information -- straight from the horse’s mouth -- and they want confirmation the information they have is, indeed, the most up-to-date.

If you want reporters to go to your website or online news room, give them something to go there for.

Before you direct media to the site; make sure it is always current. Even if you don’t have a press release to post, post the mayor’s schedule or the day’s major events. Show reporters your site is not an afterthought. A stale site loses credibility.

The Colorado Springs Police Department puts its most recent information on its police blotter. PIO’s continuously refer reporters to the blotter and now many reporters know to check it first.

Next, start promoting your site. Outgoing voicemail messages, emails and other releases should advise reporters to check the website for the latest information. Update posts regularly and indicate when to expect the next. Rather than say, “for the latest city news, visit our online newsroom at..” say, “for the latest on tonight’s State of State address, check our hourly updates online at...” Remember the online newsroom is designed to give news, not fluff. Northwestern University's Rich Gordon says traditional skills are most important.


On big stories, set up a blog and use your resources. According to PRSA Tactics, Northern Illinois University turned to its J-School to update the school's website when a student opened fire on a classroom there in 2008.

In press releases (most are sent via email) include a link to the website. CBS 4News Assignment Editor Misty Montano suggests PR professionals should stop handing out video news releases and mug-shots the old fashioned way. Post video, documents, mugs, etc on the website.

Tip: Establish RSS feeds or email alerts. Will Sullivan at the Poynter Institute suggests using Twitter for breaking news.