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Crisis Communications: Biggest Blunders and Best Rebounds
The document discusses crisis communications and outlines seven principles of effective crisis management, emphasizing honesty, action, and the importance of listening to stakeholders. It analyzes real-life examples of crisis responses from organizations like United Airlines, Facebook, KFC, and Starbucks, ranking their approaches from poor to good. Ultimately, it stresses that handling crises well can define an organization's reputation and the necessity of media monitoring for successful communication.
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Crisis Communications: Biggest Blunders and Best Rebounds
- 1. Crisis Communications: Lessons fromthe Biggest Blunders and Best Rebounds
- 2. So often theycome out of nowhere.
- 3. One minute, you’re sailingalong beautifully, all systems go.
- 4.
- 5. ...it’s like thewhole world’s on fire.
- 6. Journalists are banging downyour door, the social convo is getting well out of hand, and negative coverage is pouring in.
- 7.
- 8. Now what areyou going to do about it?
- 9. The Arthur W.Page Society — a bastion of PR education and enrichment — lists 7 principles of crisis management.
- 10. The Arthur W.Page Society — a bastion of PR education and enrichment — lists 7 principles of crisis management. Principles that apply as much in today’s digital world of fake news and information overload as they did during Page’s lifetime.
- 11.
- 12. Tell the truth: Beopen and honest about exactly what’s happening, and refrain at all costs from doing anything that might muddy the waters. 1
- 13. Prove it withaction:2
- 14. Public perception ofan enterprise is determined 90 percent by what it does and 10 percent by what it says. Act accordingly. Prove it with action:2
- 15. Listen to allstakeholders:3
- 16. You need tounderstand what the public wants and needs — and why people are upset. Listen to all stakeholders:3
- 17.
- 18. The sun willrise again — best you prepare for it. Anticipate public reaction and work to generate goodwill. Manage for tomorrow:4
- 19. Conduct PR asif the whole enterprise depends on it: 5
- 20. Because it does. ConductPR as if the whole enterprise depends on it: 5
- 21. Realize an enterprise’s truecharacter is expressed by its people 6
- 22. Every employee —active or retired — is a representative. Support each employee’s capability and desire to be an honest and knowledgeable ambassador. Realize an enterprise’s true character is expressed by its people 6
- 23. Remain calm, patient, andgood-humored: 7
- 24. They say coolheads communicate best. Remain calm, patient, and good-humored: 7
- 25. A crisis is“a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.”
- 26. A crisis is“a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” By definition, they’re undesirable.
- 27.
- 28. It’s how yourespond that determines their lasting impact.
- 29. When it comesto crisis management, there are right things to do...
- 30.
- 31. ...and then thereare TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD things to do.
- 32. We asked RonCulp, Gold Anvil winner and PR professional in residence at DePaul University,
- 33. We asked RonCulp, Gold Anvil winner and PR professional in residence at DePaul University, to assess four examples of real-life crisis management, and rank them from VERY BAD to VERY GOOD.
- 34. Here’s what he cameback with.
- 35.
- 36. THE EVENT In April2017, Dr. David Dao was forcibly removed from his seat aboard United Flight 3411 — bashed and bloodied — after the airline decided four of its employees were more deserving of seats than their paying customers.
- 37.
- 38. The next day,United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz issued a wishy-washy statement: “This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further address and resolve this situation.” THE RESPONSE:
- 39. The ‘apology’ wasviewed as less than heartfelt, and, as a result, what might have been a one- or two-day news story has turned into the poster child for how not to treat a self-inflicted crisis. RON’S VERDICT: VERY BAD
- 40. RON’S VERDICT: VERYBAD Munoz gravitated toward maintaining internal goodwill rather than realizing the external optics of the heinous ‘re-accommodation.’
- 41. Manage for tomorrow:By placing the imperatives of the company ahead of the interests of its customers, United took a shortsighted approach. Bad move. THE LESSON:
- 42.
- 43. Cambridge Analytica accessed andretained information on 87 million Facebook users without their permission. THE EVENT:
- 44. Some say thedata was used to help Donald Trump win the 2016 presidency.
- 45. Facebook wrote acouple blog posts talking about suspending and then deleting CA’s account. THE RESPONSE:
- 46. Facebook wrote acouple blog posts talking about suspending and then deleting CA’s account. Facebook brass — including Mark Zuckerberg — remained deafeningly silent for 4 days. THE RESPONSE:
- 47. RON’S VERDICT: Facebook’s delayedresponse was in total conflict with what it gives its two billion users — opportunities for immediate feedback. As a result, privacy concerns grew and the #DeleteFacebook proponents gained momentum. Of all organizations that should know better, the most significant pioneer in social media should have been better prepared for this inevitable situation. BAD
- 48. THE LESSON: Listen tostakeholders: Engage with the people that matter. Have an inclusive dialogue and learn what they want. But do it quickly – a delayed response lets others control the story.
- 49.
- 50. A switch toa new delivery partner led to a disruption in shipments, a shortfall of chicken, and the resulting closure of hundreds of its U.K. restaurants for days on end. THE EVENT:
- 51. After a handfulof witty, charming, self-effacing, and disarming tweets, KFC took out a full-page ad in the London Evening Standard. THE RESPONSE:
- 52. And it wasperfect.
- 54. RON’S VERDICT: It couldn’thave been an easy decision, but KFC’s PR and marketing teams did the right thing by laughing at themselves. The FCK ad was both brave and bold, and it played very well. GOOD
- 55. Remain calm, patient,and good-humored: Humility and self-awareness go a long way in earning forgiveness. THE LESSON:
- 56.
- 57. In April 2018,two black men went into a Starbucks in Philadelphia. THE EVENT:
- 58. They chose notto order anything as they waited for the third member of what was to be a business meeting. An employee called the cops and the two men were arrested for trespassing.
- 59. Starbucks issued agenuine and sincere apology not only to the two men, but to all its customers. It then announced that it was planning to close its more than 8,000 U.S. stores on May 29 to conduct racial bias and diversity training for employees. THE RESPONSE:
- 60. RON’S VERDICT: Starbucks tookquick, bold steps, and used the incident to drive home, both internally and externally, its commitment to doing the right thing when it comes to social issues. VERY GOOD
- 61. Prove it withaction: Issues like this don’t go away with simple promises to do better. Words are different from deeds, and less powerful when it comes to reassuring the public. THE LESSON:
- 62.
- 63. Crises don’t define brands. It’show you face them that determines what kind of an organization you are.
- 64. And to dealwith them properly, you need to listen.
- 65. And to dealwith them properly, you need to listen. This is where media monitoring comes in.
- 66. By knowing whois saying what where, you can react to, and eventually control, the conversation.
- 67. And not onlythat, but by monitoring, you learn how the public feels about you
- 68. And not onlythat, but by monitoring, you learn how the public feels about you before a crisis strikes.
- 69. Not to mention,monitoring helps you identify friendly and not-so-friendly influencers to whom you can reach out with your version of the story.
- 70. All four ofthese crises underscore the critical need for organizations to monitor the media — traditional and social — and have processes in place for prompt responses.
- 71. And in caseyou didn’t know, monitoring is one of the things Agility PR Solutions does very well. SEE HOW MONITORING CAN HELP
- 72. Prior to joiningDePaul and becoming an independent public relations consultant, Ron Culp held senior public relations positions at four Fortune 500 corporations and two major agencies. In 2006, Culp received the Distinguished Service Award from the Arthur W. Page Society, and in 2012 he was honored by the Chicago chapter of PRSA as PR Professional of the Year. In 2015 Ron received PRSA’s highest individual honor, the Gold Anvil for lifetime achievement. About Ron Culp
- 73.