Marketing & Public Relations

Critical Communications:

How to address stakeholders, media

during times of crisis

A crisis communications plan will help

you respond well

• Prevent event from escalating publicly and

damaging your reputation

• Minimize the negative effect, should crisis

occur

• Behave in a manner that provides a solid

platform for the future

• Be 80% ready when crisis strikes

• Make life so much easer!

Develop a thoughtful plan

• Prepare to address three biggest and most likely

crises

• Develop for each crisis baseline messages that

• Maintain your credibility

• Defend your brand

• Plan what you could you say • If there’s an accident born of negligence

• If there’s financial malfeasance or an FBI investigation

• If there are public sexual harassment accusations against a

senior official

Develop a thoughtful plan

• Develop communications process

• Assign responsibility based on threat + potential

• Establish communications chain to address key

audiences

• Tap all channels to deliver messages quickly

• Consider pre-written copy for

• Websites

• News releases

• Stakeholder alerts

Develop a thoughtful plan

• Assign select managers to watch for brewing

crises and alert senior staff

• Identify target audiences

• Top management, board

• Employees

• Residents

• Other agencies, departments

• Vendors

Develop a thoughtful plan

• Describe likely crises

• Describe proper behaviors

• Provide baseline messages

• Identify crisis management team

• Identify spokespeople

• Establish communication processes

Simulate a crisis

• Review potential crises with crisis team

• Simulate crisis

• Conduct workshop & practice

• Modify plan, baseline messages, as required

• Update, engage appropriate principals who may

not be on crisis team

• Prepare to deal with media

Crises may require press interviews

• What happened?

• How did it happen?

• Why did it happen?

• What does this mean?

• Who is to blame?

• Can it happen again?

Train, prepare for media interviews

• Why train?

• Media training helps you make the most of media

opportunities

• Improve comfort level

• Manage time, space

• Help reporter

• Practice telling your story

Marketing & Public Relations

Critical Communications:

How to address stakeholders, media

during times of crisis