Crisis PR – How to Save Your Company by Speaking Your Truth

Crises affect all types of activities. The question is not whether a crisis will occur or not, but when it will happen and how severe it will be. Just as one can live a healthier and happier life, any threat to a business can be endured with minimal losses. But to achieve this, one must be prepared for a crisis situation.

A crisis is always a blow, primarily to the reputation and property of a company. However, at the same time, it is a potential opportunity for renewal and even reaching a new level of development. By learning to manage a crisis situation correctly, a team of top managers can derive many benefits from it. For example, they can use it as material for developing new goals and principles, improving communication processes, and utilizing more advanced management tools. Undoubtedly, there are certain risk groups—areas of activity that are more susceptible to instability or unexpected “gifts” of fate. This group includes companies involved in food production, transportation and logistics, pharmaceuticals—anything related to human health or life. Activities such as large-scale production, finance, and any enterprises related to ecology are more prone to crises.

It would be a mistake to think that preparing for a crisis situation is exclusively the task of large companies. Often, even a major crisis for a multimillion-dollar production can result in the disappearance of just one product, whereas a minor problem in a small business can be fatal for a modest enterprise.

Crisis PR in Action

As history has shown, a well-executed Crisis PR strategy can mean the difference between survival and irreparable damage. Let’s examine two cases where companies navigated crises with finesse, preserving their brands, and one cautionary tale where missteps led to downfall.

Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol Poisoning Incident

In 1982, Johnson & Johnson faced a nightmare scenario when seven individuals tragically lost their lives after ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in the Chicago area. Rather than retreat into silence, the company took swift and decisive action. Within hours of learning about the poisoning, Johnson & Johnson issued a nationwide recall of 31 million Tylenol bottles, a move that cost the company millions but underscored their commitment to consumer safety.

Through transparent communication and proactive measures like introducing tamper-resistant packaging, Johnson & Johnson successfully restored trust in the Tylenol brand. Their handling of the crisis set a benchmark for crisis management, showcasing the power of accountability and swift action in preserving brand reputation.

Toyota’s Response to Unintended Acceleration Issues

In the late 2000s, Toyota faced a crisis when reports surfaced of unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles, resulting in accidents and fatalities. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Toyota wasted no time in initiating recalls for millions of vehicles and conducting thorough investigations into the issue. By prioritizing consumer safety and implementing changes in their manufacturing processes, Toyota demonstrated a commitment to accountability and transparency.

Despite initial setbacks, Toyota’s proactive crisis response paid dividends, as the company managed to regain consumer trust and maintain its standing as a leading automotive manufacturer. The incident served as a testament to the importance of rapid response and decisive action in mitigating the impact of crises.

What Not to Do – TWA Flight 800 Crash

In stark contrast to the examples above, the handling of the TWA Flight 800 crash in 1996 serves as a cautionary tale in crisis management. Following the tragic crash of the Boeing 747 shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport, TWA’s leadership faltered in their response. With a delay of 16 hours before issuing a statement, the company allowed speculation and misinformation to proliferate unchecked.

The lack of timely and effective communication eroded public trust in TWA’s safety standards, leading to a sharp decline in bookings and ultimately precipitating the airline’s financial demise. The TWA case underscores the importance of swift and transparent crisis communication, as failure to do so can have devastating consequences for even the most established brands.

How to Recognize a Crisis

Experts identify three essential components of a crisis. First and foremost, it is, of course, a problem that hinders the normal course of company operations. The second condition of a crisis is the need for concentrated attention to this problem by management. And finally, the third component is the emergence of the danger that information about the situation may become known, or has already become known, to the public, putting at risk the company’s reputation, its leadership, brand image, and so on.

If one of these factors is missing, the situation is characterized as pre-crisis, and a crisis could erupt at any moment. For example, an emergency incident may occur in production, such as a fire resulting in casualties. If there is confidence that information about the incident will not leak to the press, it still represents a significant internal problem. But this is precisely the moment when one must be prepared to activate crisis management mechanisms.

Three Stages of a Crisis

The first stage involves an event that may not yet be known to anyone, including the company’s management. At this stage, it is crucial for information about the incident to be conveyed to those authorized to make decisions regarding the matter as quickly as possible.

The second stage sees local discussions about what has happened in society. All communication mechanisms need to be activated. It is essential not only to acknowledge the crisis but also to provide the media with correct information as quickly as possible.

The third stage involves the penetration of information at the national level, where society has formed its own opinion and believes that something is wrong with the company if such an incident occurred. At this stage, in addition to crisis resolution, enhanced measures will be required to preserve or restore the company’s reputation. Communication is always the primary focal point of a crisis because the reputation of the product or company is most affected during a crisis. The end of the crisis will be known when the company can return to its normal mode of operation.

Every crisis situation is unique and requires a specific approach. Unfortunately, it is impossible to prepare for every possible crisis scenario. However, a company must have a clear action plan applicable to most probable crisis situations. Planning, preparation, early detection, and notification systems are crucial to prevent everyday business problems from spiraling out of control.

Crisis Management Plan

This document needs to be created in advance, not only written by the time a disaster strikes but also, if possible, scenarios of different emergency situations should be rehearsed, literally like in a game of “Zarnitsa”. The crisis management plan is a guide to action, a charter, and training material (because playing crisis games every year is too expensive).

1. Crisis Management Team

In any case, it is necessary to understand the tasks of the crisis management group: to lead the company out of the crisis, i.e., to eliminate the crisis itself, to communicate with the press so that the public believes that the company is doing everything possible in this situation, and finally, to manage the team’s work. Even in the smallest company, allowing one person to handle the crisis is not acceptable. Besides being an unattainable task even for a very talented manager, there is a risk that the stress will be too strong, and they will be unable to perform even the simplest actions. The team must consist of several people: the leader, top managers, and experts, and each responsible person must have a deputy appointed in advance.

The leader is the person who will manage the crisis itself. This could be either the head of the company or someone very close to them.

The top management team may include:

• A company representative who communicates information to the press. This person must be able to speak well and present themselves effectively on camera.
• Someone responsible for external communication, handling all communication with the press, informational materials, and organizing the work of the company representative.
• Someone responsible for communication with clients, distributors, administration, and regulatory bodies.
• Someone responsible for communication with the internal team, informing employees of what has happened and visiting the family of an employee if, for example, there has been a fatal incident.
• Someone responsible for managing the crisis resolution process and its consequences.
• Someone responsible for managing the company, who temporarily assumes the role of CEO during the crisis.

The group of experts may include specialists such as speechwriters or press communication specialists, although it would be best if top management writes the speeches themselves. Among the experts could be a laboratory technician who analyzes suspicious drugs, as well as a lawyer who provides advice in the early stages of the crisis. The composition of the expert group depends on the type of company activity.

This list should include not only specific names but also phone numbers, addresses, and all possible channels of regular and emergency communication. All these people, including experts and deputies, should be ready to rise in the middle of the night and take action. Each of them should know the crisis plan by heart and clearly understand their tasks and responsibilities.

2. Assessing all possible risks, preferably tested against two criteria: the likelihood and the scale for the firm.

After that, the company needs to compile its own individual list of 5-10 most dangerous and likely risks. For example, a bakery may have problems with the quality of its products, a jewelry store may face thefts, a chemical plant may experience explosions and leaks, and nobody is immune from difficulties in relations with the administration. As an option, criminals could kidnap the president of a multimillion-dollar company and demand ransom, or a journalist could obtain video material exposing a government official for bribery. Thus, potential crises can be both related to production and unrelated directly to the company’s operations.

Here are a few more examples of possible crisis causes to focus attention on: a serious accident at the production site; the threat of a terrorist attack; the threat of a significant leak of confidential information; the occurrence of illness, kidnapping, death, or other reasons affecting the ability of key personnel to function; damage to the environment or to the health and lives of people unrelated to production.

3. Scenarios for the development of crises based on the main risks of the company.

It is necessary to create a detailed plan of action up to preparing press statements and lists of media contacts for each specific situation. This includes reports on “training” crises that were not handled well. For example, what will we do and say if our carbonated drink is contaminated with gasoline or if our oil tanker runs aground?

As an example of being unprepared for an emergency situation, we can mention the story of the Exxon Valdez company, whose tanker ran aground, resulting in oil spilling over half the coast of Alaska. Exxon Valdez quickly mobilized and began managing the crisis: deploying significant resources to clean up the oil, hiring volunteers, and specialized companies to mitigate the spill’s consequences. However, no one knew that these measures were taken by the company responsible for the incident.

This became the company’s main mistake. Television showed oil-covered penguins and people manually cleaning up the oil, but nowhere was it said or written that Exxon Valdez was doing this. The public perception was that Exxon was at fault, while society was cleaning up after them. If the company had simply dressed all volunteers in bright jackets with the company’s name, the result would have been completely different. But even now, two decades later, Exxon has not been forgiven for this incident, although the company not only suffered as much as the others but also did everything in its power to mitigate the consequences of the terrible incident.

The crisis action plan may include:

• Establishing minimum and maximum crisis durations. Usually, short-term crisis periods are related to the perception of a product or service, while longer ones can affect the viability of the product or even the company itself. Undesirable headlines in the press do not necessarily trigger a crisis, but they can serve as a signal that must not be overlooked.
• Gathering all possible information. The crisis management team should gather within an hour, begin analyzing the situation, and choose the right communication strategy.
• Freeing the crisis management team from their main duties. It is impossible to fight a crisis in one’s spare time.
• Localizing the problem as much as possible. Be prepared to sacrifice the product or even the local market if it saves the business.
• Always prepare for the worst-case scenario in any situation. Management must answer the most difficult questions as clearly and comprehensively as possible.
• Planning communications with all target groups interested in the crisis, both externally and within the company. These could include employees and their families, distributors and business partners, societies and organizations, medical professionals, law enforcement agencies, the press, authoritative figures, the government, etc.

These steps will help control and manage the extremely unpredictable nature of the crisis and organize the crisis management team so that they can soberly assess the risk in all directions, see opportunities to get out of a difficult situation, confidently manage the communication process, and act optimally.

• Analysis and evaluation of the work done and crises experienced, including those by other companies.

• Coordinates of legal and insurance services structures, as well as nearby dining points, hotels, healthcare services, and police stations relative to the workplace. It would also be useful to have a list of phone numbers of influential and reputable public figures who could support the leaders and the company itself.

Constant adjustment of all components of the crisis action plan is required depending on the company’s development directions and changes in the composition of leaders and experts. It is necessary to periodically gather and process data that could indicate the emergence of new vulnerabilities, as neglecting minor current information could jeopardize even the most detailed crisis action plan and lead to loss of control over evolving events.

Additionally, efforts should be made to gain public trust in the company. It is essential to maintain good relations with the press. The company’s management should be open and accessible to journalists, and therefore to the public. The best approach is to initiate news about the progress of your business life, as positive information is as valuable to the media as negative.

Now that you have a crisis action plan, it has been tested, and all those responsible for managing the crisis situation know it by heart, it is essential to know how to apply this knowledge in the event of a real crisis.

Should you speak or remain silent?

Since the key moment in a crisis situation is communication, the fact of making an informational statement, as well as the nature and frequency of the information transmitted, are of great importance. Experts argue that a company must engage with the press. If an extraordinary event becomes public knowledge and the company does not fill the informational void with its statements, the vacuum will be filled with anything but what is beneficial for the company’s reputation. The irresistible urge to remain silent can lead to a new stage in the crisis and, as a result, significant moral and material losses.

Very often, it is not possible to quickly gather evidence of the event. But this is also not a reason for silence: at least say that you are verifying the information, and this will be the truth. Say that you know nothing about the incident but are taking all measures to find out what happened and guarantee swift action to prevent negative consequences. But even if you want to keep some information secret, you must carefully consider all possible consequences of such action. After all, all secrets, one way or another, become evident. And it is better if this secret comes from your mouth than from a journalist’s.

Sometimes events develop rapidly. A few years ago, there was a tragedy involving one of the aircraft of the American airline “TWA.” The plane exploded after a few minutes of flight. At that moment, the company’s leader was on a business trip in another country. For 16 hours, the company did not make a statement, waiting for the leader to arrive. This period was enough for the company’s reputation to be destroyed. As a result, the company went bankrupt.

What to say, when, and to whom

These are perhaps the most crucial questions in crisis communications, and the answer directly depends on what people want to know. Experience shows that, as a rule, three main interests arise regarding emergency situations: why did it happen, who is to blame, and have the necessary measures been taken to prevent it from happening again?

The company must be prepared to focus and answer these three questions appropriately within 5 minutes after receiving a call from a newspaper, city hall, or regional administration. The most prepared and, first and foremost, the most informed person should address the press. Ideally, this should be the company’s top executive, especially if a tragedy has occurred.

What to say

The most important rule in a crisis situation is never to lie, fantasize, or otherwise hide the truth; you should only speak about what is known at the moment. If a journalist calls you and reports that there was a fire at your factory and people died, and you know nothing about it, you should not respond that you are not ready to talk about it. You should say that you are clarifying the facts of the event and promise to call back and inform if you learn anything new. Of course, at this moment, the crisis action plan should be activated, all responsible parties should be notified, and the circumstances of the incident should be clarified immediately.

As soon as you learn something, in order to protect the company’s reputation, it is necessary to inform the public about what exactly happened, the scale of it (confirm or refute the incident), and what measures have been taken. Even if you have exhaustive information about what happened, you probably won’t be able to name the culprit of the incident immediately, as this often requires days of investigation.

If the scale of the tragedy is significant and known in numbers, these numbers should be mentioned, but only if they are confirmed by official authorities such as medical professionals, police, or firefighters. For example, when television reports on plane crashes, they mention that there were 200 people on board but show a list of only 15 surnames. This means that the relatives of these 15 have already been informed about the tragedy.

Do not forget what you intended to say and do not let yourself be confused. Hostile, negative questions should be turned into positive ones whenever possible. For example, if the issue is about forced staff reductions at the company, attention should be focused on the fact that most jobs have been retained, but the management is doing everything possible to preserve all positions, and material assistance will be provided to those who have to be laid off and their families.

In general, if as a result of an incident leading to a crisis, people were injured or killed, it is essential to provide assistance to the victims or their families. Of course, if the scale is enormous, you may not be able to compensate materially for the losses to a large number of people. But in any case, if you do not emotionally engage in this situation, it will be challenging to honestly face journalists and claim that you have done everything you could. Society expects empathy from you if people have suffered as a result of your actions. From a communication standpoint, it is crucial to show that there are real people working in the company, that they understand the grief of the victims and their families.

When to speak

At the very beginning of the crisis, when the event is not yet widely known to the public, you have a little time. But if society as a whole forms or begins to form a negative perception of the company, you can say that you are late with your statements. If something happens that the company was prepared for, you should speak immediately. The optimal frequency for providing information to the press is once a day.

Whom to speak to

The choice of media depends on the nature of the company’s activities, the scale, location, and territorial extent of the tragedy. For example, if something happens in Moscow, then, of course, you need to communicate with central mass media. It is crucial to understand clearly that your crisis is only your crisis and to exercise moderation in selecting which media to work with. First and foremost, these will be those who have shown interest in your problem. All media outlets should receive the same information, but it is best to prepare specific materials for different audiences, depending on who the messages will be addressed to.

Do not forget about the internal communication audience, a significant part of which consists of company employees. This is another channel for disseminating information, so it is essential to make an effort in this direction. Your employees, just like everyone else, need to hear the truth based on facts.

If you are not ready

What should you do if a crisis is inevitable or has already occurred, and you have no action plan? First of all, calm down and calm your team. You have very little time, but you still have at least an hour to outline a course of action.

• Organize a crisis management team.
• Identify the crisis source, determine the causes and possible consequences, as well as all interested parties.
• Determine the need for influencing key target audiences (the public, employees, clients) and identify channels for disseminating information.
• Brief the crisis management team on the position you have developed and ensure that the press has access to firsthand information.

Is it worth turning to professional PR help

Any company can cope with a crisis if it is prepared for it. However, it is still worth entrusting crisis management to professionals when the product of the probability by the price of the consequences is high. It is unlikely that this will be necessary for a small company that does not have a famous name, but for companies known worldwide, there is something to lose, so in a crisis situation, you need to act very carefully.

PR specialists can help, for example, in organizing timely information transfer, addressing acute issues with the press. There have been real cases where an agency involved in a crisis situation helped a company save its business, whose management was already preparing for bankruptcy due to negative rumors.

The company’s management turned to specialists during a crisis caused by negative rumors. Due to the rumors, the company experienced a significant loss of customers. If the situation had persisted for two weeks, the company would have been forced to close. Serious work was done: the essence and channels of dissemination of negative information were identified, a policy was developed, according to which the company agreed with some negative facts, data were also found indicating significant progress of the company and new working technologies that allow it to outperform competitors significantly.

The company’s problems were identified as temporary, related to the introduction of new technologies, which helped to replace negative information with positive information. A list of advantages associated with the introduction of new technologies was compiled.

At the next stage, channels for disseminating information were created: the press, individual work with real and potential clients, intensified advertising activity based on the introduction of new technologies. Thus, the company’s problem associated with the spread of negative information began to be resolved, advertising ensured the influx of new clients, and the business not only survived but also experienced a second wind.

Originally written for Moscow Bookkeeper