Crisis and online communications: Years of good reputation can be lost over a single incriminating video or post online. Learn ways to avoid he danger and when it happens how to effect damage control decisively.

1. 1
Crisis & Online
Communications
International School
Of Communication
Introductions
• Media trainer, consultant and former journalist
• Keen social media advocate
• Worked as correspondent for Nikkei Business
Publications, CNet, ZDNet and Newsbytes
About you
• Do you currently manage any of your company’s
social media channels ?
• Have you any experience handling a crisis?
• What do you hope to take away from Day 5?

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Crisis communications:
A turning point?
3
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and
five minutes to ruin it,” Warren Buffett

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5
1. One bad interview can ruin your
company’s reputation
Former BP CEO Tony Hayward made a series of gaffes during Gulf oil spill
2. Perception matters -- media
visibility affects the bottom line
Takata shares plunge as
Honda drops supplier
BP profits slump after
huge oil spill charge
Uber hits back at claims of thousands of rape
and sexual assault complaints
Jury Orders J&J to Pay $72M in
Ovarian Cancer Talcum Powder Case
Volkswagen Shares Dive
on New Emissions Woes

4. 4
Company Crisis
Share price
loss
Union
Carbide
Bhopal 35%
Texaco Discrimination 10%
Coca-Cola
Belgium recall
after children ill
22%
Firestone
High tyre failure
in Ford Explorer
40%
BP Gulf spill 50%
Arla
Offensive
cartoons
50%
Toyota Recalls 50%
A crisis can destroy stock value
8
3. Social media is growing
in reach and influence
• 1.39b monthly active users
• Malaysia: >18 million
• 396m users
• Malaysia: > 2m
• 1b unique users/month
• 4b views/day
• 100hrs of video uploaded/1 min
• 307m monthly active users
• Malaysia: > 2m
Sources: Statista(Q1, 2016), Socialbakers.com, DMR
• 1b monthly active users
• Malaysia: 75% penetration

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4. Media diet has changed

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5. You are already a brand ambassador
(so you need to know how to promote your company’s
agenda 24/7/365 to traditional and new media)

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Case study: LRT danger
Group MD tweets
1.19pm Nov 23
1.21pm Nov 23

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Facebook post Tweet @MyRapidKL
Re-tweet media tweets

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Case study: LRT 2012
Old pic from 2006
posted as new
1. Be ready to act fast 2. Get ahead of the rumour mill
3. Appoint professionals
Case study: Paradigm Mall
Poor replies to issues on
FB
Case study: Worms in
Lipton lemon green tea

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What does this mean for companies,
brands, spokespersons?
• Social-media savvy activists,
detractors, brand terrorists can
easily organize against your
brand
• Your messaging must be
consistent – internally,
externally, online and offline. But
you can no longer control the
conversations and reactions.
• Transparency, Integrity,
Accountability: The virtues of
corporate governance must be
embraced – all across the board

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Risk assessment and issues mapping
International School
Of Communication
22

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2323
Definitions
A crisis is an event or series
of events which can severely
damage the reputation of an
organisation. It can interrupt
normal workflow and threaten
the organisation’s very
existence.
Crisis communications is a
responsible programme to
minimize damage to a
company’s reputation through
active engagement and
communications with
employees, stakeholders, the
public and the media
24
Types of crises
• Financial: Bank run, hostile
takeover, government-forced
merger, sovereign defaults, stock
crash, bubbles, currency crises
• Corporate/legal: Lawsuits, anti-
trust, copyright infringement. Eg.
Microsoft.
• Brand terrorism: product
tampering, malicious rumours,
corporate espionage, hacking. Eg.
Tylenol.
• Medical: Mass hysteria, flu
outbreak, H1N1, SARS
• Natural disasters: Tsunami,
landslides, flash floods, freak
storms.
• Accidents: Vehicle crash, explosions,
careless handling of hazardous
material, fire
• Product/service failure: Product
recalls, faulty service. Eg. Firestone.
• Organizational misdeeds:
Management misconduct, deception,
financial fudging, stock manipulation,
kickbacks. Eg. Enron, Satyam, VW
• Workplace issues: Violence, sexual
harassment, discrimination
• Technological crises: eg: phishing
scam, skimming, systems crash, data
loss, software failure, blackouts. Eg.
KLSE crash.
• Confrontational: Boycotts, picketing,
sit-ins, strikes, blockade or occupation
of buildings

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Types of crises
High business impact
Low business impact
Low probability High probability
Hostile takeover
Product incidents
Boycott
Class-action
lawsuit
Environmental
catastrophe Accident
on premises
Financial crisis Management
mistakes
Sabotage
Dismissals
Corruption
Sexual
harassment
Pressure group
actions
Strikes
IP copyright
infringement
Retrenchment
Trade sanctions
Exercise:
Determine which crises are highly
probable and will likely impact your
organisation

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Every crisis is an opportunity
• A crisis thrusts an
organisation into the
spotlight
• An organisation that
responds well can
improve its
reputation in the long
term
• Communication is
crucial. It is not
enough to respond
well: you must also
be seen to respond
well
28
Best pro-active practices:
Crisis communications
• Formulate a crisis communications plan
• Role-play crisis scenarios
• Update crisis plans regularly
• Train staff on crisis communications
• Meet and cultivate the media
• Engage and connect with online
communities
• Use online tracking tools to monitor and flag
possible crisis situations

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1. Prevention/preparation
2. Detection
3. Damage control
4. Recovery
5. Learning
Five states in a crisis
30
1. Prevention/ preparation
• Media queries are always
responded to promptly and reliably
• Management trained to be media-
savvy, have credible voice online
• Open and transparent processes in
place
• Employees are vigilant and always
communicating with customers,
stakeholders, management, online
community
• Infrastructure and resources are
always serviced and up-to-date
• Crisis communications plan is
constantly updated

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2a. Detection: Online
Example warning signs:
• Rise in customer service
complaints online
• High criticism of services in social
media
• Negative sentiment of organisation
in online monitoring and tracking
tools
• Online media critical of inaction
• Unusual staff turnover, employee
discontent reflected in social
networks
• Infrastructure starting to break
down
32
2b. Detection: Management issues
• Little or no innovation or any emphasis on R & D,
training or re-training
• Exorbitant executive salary of top management
• A frenzy of redundant meetings and overlapping tasks,
projects and sub-committees
• Relying on the past and shackled to sticking to the
knitting mentality
• Management has lost touch with stakeholders, markets,
customers, and do not fully embrace change of any kind
• *Active inertia: Taking small measures which aren’t
focused, measurable, and internalized by whole
organization
*Ref: Don Sull, Revival of the Fittest

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33
3. Damage control
• Crisis strikes
• Crisis communications plans kicks in
• CEO, board notified
• Activate crisis comms team and the media centre (ensure
communications set-up is working) and light up dark site
if necessary
• Inform authorities concerned of situation
• Action initiated, resources mobilized, safety and security
prioritized
• Media, public, community, stakeholders kept informed
• CEO or designate conducts first briefing
• Detail the FACTS of the event (5Ws) to draft out initial
press statement.
• Follow up with media as promised.
• Resolution provided
34
4. Recovery
• Restore public confidence
through action, public clean-up
or third-party expert vouching
safety
• “Business as usual” statement
• Compensation or free samples
offered
• Thanking parties involved in
resolution
• Media provided with tour

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35
5. Learning
• Did media carry your messages?
• Was spokesperson credible?
• Did public empathize with company?
• Was dissemination of resolution via
website, emails, press releases,
video effective?
• Were briefings, conferences
conducted smoothly?
• Was there enough backup and
support?
• Can you benchmark event as case
study?
36
• What happened?
• When and where did it happen?
• Who is dead, injured or affected?
• What is the extent of damage?
• What parties were involved?
• What are you doing about it?
• When will it be resolved?
• Who is in charge?
• Why did it happen?
• How did it happen?
• Has it happened before?
• What was the ‘real’ cause?
• Will it happen again?
• Who is responsible?
• Who is to blame?
What the media wants in a crisis

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Crisis Spokesperson:
Regret, Reason, Remedy
1. REGRET:
• Show genuine concern for victims, express regret,
apologize if necessary but be specific
• Say what needs to be said to victims and their families
• Who can the people affected call?
2. REASON
• How and why it happened. (Just the facts, do NOT
speculate). If you do not know say you don’t know –
pending investigations
3. REMEDY:
• What are you doing to fix it?
• What resources have been allocated?
• Is the environment secure now? Is the public still at risk?
Is it safe to go there?
• How long is the remedial action going to take?
• When can we hear from you again?
38
When the media calls
1.“We know and here are the
facts.” (Holding statement)
2.“We don’t know everything at
this time. Here’s what we
know. We’ll find out more and
let you know by XX:00 time.”
3.“This is first we have heard of
it - but we’ll find out more and
get back to you.”
Note: Do not hang up or say
no comment!

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39
Tools for responding to
media in a crisis
Traditional
• Holding statement
• Press release
• Fact sheet
• Q & A or F.A.Q.
• Press conference
• Memo or letter
• Advertisement
• One-on-one interview
• 24-hour hotline
Social media
• Light up dark site
• Fill with hourly/daily
updates on Facebook or
Twitter
• Video on YouTube
• Set up a blog or feedback
forum (*be prepared to
monitor)
• Crowd-sourced survivor
lists
• 5-digit SMS hotline
40
Who does what in crisis
communications
Crisis Management Team Leader:
• Collect all relevant information and get it to
communications
• In almost all circumstances, the incident
commander/crisis manager is main spokesperson on
the ground
Communications:
• Develop holding statements/Q&A/FAQ for use with
media
• Get spokesperson prepared, rehearse statement.
• Monitor news coverage
• Develop internal communications strategy/materials.
• Counsel the next course of actions for
communications

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41
• Within two hours
• Holding statement
• Update online media
(post content on dark site)
• Inform staff
• Within six hours
• Press statement
• Press conference (if necessary)
• Produce sound clip/ TV footage
• Set up crisis hotline
• Within 24 hours
• Arrange interviews
• Gather third-party statements
• Within a few days
• Detailed discussions with journalists
• Personal discussions with media and key opinion leaders
• Internal media
• Place ads
All about speed
42
Holding statement: eg. Fire
• Provides the media with an initial statement of
facts that can be used immediately when crisis
breaks
• Answer the four Ws: Who, What, When, Where.
Explain WHAT the incident is. Identify WHO is
involved, tell WHERE and WHEN the incident
occurred, explain WHAT action is being taken to
respond to the incident.
• Do not speculate on the How, How Much or Why
if you do not know the answer yet. When in doubt
leave out.
• DO NOT disclose any names of dead or injured
until next-of-kin is informed. (Reporters may get names
from police or hospital. When you are ready to release names, appeal
to media to respect the privacy of family and relatives in their time of
bereavement.)

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43
Example: Holding statement
At approximately 9am today, March 18, 2016, a
fire occurred at _____________.
All our employees evacuated the building safely.
The local police and fire services were alerted
and the situation is now contained.
Our immediate concerns are for the safety and
well-being of our staff and the public and to
minimize the impact to the surrounding area.
We will keep you updated as more details
become available. (Please check our
website/blog or call the hotline_____________)
44
Follow-up statement
• State whether fire is put out, any people injured
and surrounding community is secure.
• Show empathy, regret and appropriate concern for
victims, their families and those affected.
• State that the safety and security of your
customers and employees is always your highest
priority.
• Name the agencies you are working with – eg.
police, hospital, local council, fire department,
hazmat, search and rescue, enforcement – who
are responding to this incident.
• State whether investigations and related follow-up
activities are on-going.

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45
Case study: KFC employee
attacks customer
46
Social media amplifies crisis

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KFC statements
Feb 7, 2012 Feb 9, 2012
Feb 8, 2012
48
Resolution

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Do the right thing!
50
A few things to remember…
• You are not the only source – police, fire emergency
responders, bystanders are often a larger part of the
story.
• All or nothing on info – you can’t choose what you
want to talk about and what you do. Sticking to key
messages in your statement is often your best bet.
• Media needs conflict. If one side is making noise
and the other is not, the story dies out quickly.
“Fighting” often makes stories longer.
• Internal messages can go external. Just one click
and it goes viral. Make sure it is consistent with
external messaging.

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51
Spokesperson: Ambush interview
• Be calm
• Don’t take it personally
• Don’t get angry or lash out
• Do not guess or speculate
• Get name and phone number of individual reporter
• Offer to be accessible as soon as you know the facts
52
Ambush interview responses
• “Yes, I was informed. Let me
begin by saying that ABC Sdn
Bhd considers the safety and
well-being of its employees its
utmost priority. This is what we
know so far: No 1, No 2, No
3…..”
•“I do not know anything beyond what has been
speculated in the papers. We consider this a very
serious issue and an emergency board meeting will
be held at 2pm, to discuss this urgent matter.”
•“This is the first I heard of it. Let me get to my office
and get all the facts before I respond. May I have
your number please?”

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Exercise
• Break out into groups
• Determine the lessons learnt from the case
studies your group have been given
• What did the company do right?
• What did the company do wrong?
• What lessons from this case study can you
incorporate in your organisation?

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Crisis case studies
International School
Of Communication
Dealing with hoaxes, rumours,
false news, brand terrorism
56
Emails you don’t want to receive
Dear Maybank Customer,
Serious security treat in your account. Follow below reference to reactivate now.
http://www.maybank2u.com.my/active.asp.html
Yahoo! Mail gives members random cash prizes. Today, your account is
randomly selected as one of 5 top winners
I AM PRINCE DESMOND OKOTIEBOR ETETE. THE NEXT HEIR TO THE THRONE OF THE OIL
RICH KINGDOM OF THE OGONI COMMUNITY. I HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY
PRESENTLY IN THE PALACE.THE FUNDS WERE REALISED FROM OIL ROYALTIES THAT WAS
PAID TO MY LATE FATHER. I NEED YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERRING THE SUM
OF US$330 MILLION IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR ACCOUNT.

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57
Verifying information
58
Hoax: Ericsson free phone offer
• An email promising a free handphone from
Swedish telco giant Ericsson
• Those who forwarded the email to 8 friends
would receive a free Ericsson T18 handphone
within two weeks. If forwarded to 20 friends,
senders were promised "a brand new
Ericsson R320 WAP phone."
• Reminded the recipient to send a copy to
Anna.Swelund@ericsson.com of Ericsson
Marketing.

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59
• Contacted Peter Bodor, PR manager of Ericsson
Mobile Communications who confirmed the chain mail
is hoax. No person named Anna Swelund in
company.
• The company has received about 1,000 emails,
mainly from Europe, and also from the US and Asia.
Did not crash its server.
• This was not the first time Ericsson was hit by such
chain letters, and that other companies like Nokia,
Microsoft and Disney were similarly affected.
• Ericsson posted a notice on its website advising
people to discontinue forwarding the email and
apologized for the inconvenience.
• Link: http://www.trinetizen.com/archive/?p=113
How to kill a hoax
60
Tommy Hilfiger – a rumour of racism?

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The problem with Internet rumours
• Difficult to identify source.
• Can’t tell how widespread.
• If you choose to ignore, it may go viral.
• If you choose to fight it, it may attract more
attention.
• If partly true – “where there is smoke there is fire”
– a denial may seem insincere and fan the
flames.
62
Samsung phone easily broken?

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63
YouTube video taken down
64
Strategies for fighting rumours
1. LOW-KEY: If source identifiable: disgruntled
employee, irate customer, jealous competitor, then
deal with it internally without publicity, if possible.
2. F2F: Engage and neutralize face-to-face: Often
those hostile online, can be less prone to spread
rumours once confronted.
3. COUNTER: If it can cause serious damage and
has already gained traction publicly -- even if
source is not identified -- it’s best to get your side
of the story and facts out.

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65
The radio silence strategy
+ve
• The best crisis case studies are the ones you
never hear about.
• Time may resolve the problem on its own without
your intervention.
• Sometimes a little goodwill can go a long way.
-ve
• Doing nothing is always highly risky. You never
know when a rumour may become viral online.
• Critics with long memories may point out how you
were silent before.
• A lack of information fuels anxiety rather than
defuses it.
66
Coca-Cola fights myths online
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/myths_rumors/

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Case study: Dell vs Sony
68
Dell laptop explodes
at Japanese conference
By INQUIRER.net newsdesk: Wednesday 21 June 2006
An Inquirer reader attending a conference in Japan sat
just feet away from a laptop computer that suddenly
exploded into flames, in what could have been a
deadly accident.
Gaston, our astonished reader reports: "The damn thing
was on fire and produced several explosions for more
than five minutes"…
For the record, this is a Dell machine," notes Gaston.
"It is only a matter of time until such an incident breaks
out on a plane," he suggests.
Our witness managed to catch all the action in these
amazing pictures….

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69
70

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Good news, get it out fast
Bad news, get it out faster*
*Caveat: Assess, verify, confirm,
attribute. If in doubt, leave out.
72
Dell to recall 4 million
laptop batteries
CNET News.com,August 14, 2006
Dell and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
plan to recall 4.1 million notebook batteries on Tuesday, a
company representative confirmed.
The recall affects certain Inspiron, Latitude and Precision
mobile workstations shipped between April 2004 and July 18,
2006. Sony manufactured the batteries that are being
recalled, the representative said.
This looks like the largest battery recall in the history of
the electronics industry, said Roger Kay, an analyst with
Endpoint Technologies Associates. "The scale of it is
phenomenal."

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Sony delays response,
problems deepen…
• Aug 15, 06: Dell recalls 4.1m batteries
• Aug 24, 06: Apple recalls 1.8m batteries
• Sept 15, 06: Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and
Korean Air ban use of Dell and Apple laptops
on board its planes, unless the battery
removed.
• Sept 28, 06:Lenovo/IBM: 526,000 batteries
• Sept 29, 06:Dell increases recall to 4.2m
• Sept 29, 06:Toshiba recalls 830,000 batteries
74
ThinkPad explodes in LAX airport, posting on
Gizmodo.com, Sept 16
“So we're waiting for a flight in the United lounge at LAX, this guy
comes running the wrong way, pushing other passengers out of the
way and quickly drops his laptop on the floor. The thing
immediately flares up like a giant firework for about 15 seconds,
then catches fire….”

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75
Charred remains of IBM
notebook on terminal floor
76
Crisis Escalates, Goes Viral

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77
Sony finally responds…
Sept 30, 2006: Sony finally announces
global recall of 9.6 million PC batteries.
The recall and replacement would cost as
much as 50 billion yen (about US$423
million).
…but profit plunges 94 percent for July-
Sept quarter
Dell’s Response Post-mortem
• Determines cause – battery supplier, executes
costly remedial action with safety in mind.
• Liaises with authority: Works with U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission to
announce global recall of 4.1 million laptop
batteries.
• Used website: Sets up recall website for
customers to check affected units.
• Assures safety: Guarantees replacement
batteries are safe.
78

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'Alien' substance caused Dell
notebook battery to ignite
By Julian Matthews, ZDNet Asia October 23, 2000
KUALA LUMPUR – An 'alien' substance was mixed into the
production process of the battery that caused a Dell customer's
notebook to burst into flames and prompted a recall last week.
"As a result of analysis, we defined the cause of the short circuit
that occurred in one cell was due to mixing of an alien substance at
one production process," said Yoshiyuki Arikawa, a spokesperson
of battery-supplier Soft Energy Company, a unit of Japanese
consumer giant Sanyo Electric Co Ltd.
In the e-mail response to ZDNet Asia, Arikawa did not define what
the 'alien' substance could be or how it entered the production
process…
Arikawa added, "The defect rate should be very small since it’s a
specific occasion and (went through) normal inspection process
after. The defect is limited only to the 27,000-set lot to Dell."
Dell Computer recalled the 27,000 batteries with a promise to
replace them free of charge….
80
The Concept Of
P.E.A.R
In Crisis
Communications

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81
 Safeguard People
 Protect the Environment
 Protect company Assets
 Protect company Reputation
Response In A Crisis
82
• Dell alerts customers,
warns of danger, sets up
website for recall &
replacement
• Dell continues to work
with safety authorities to
monitor the situation
• Dell expresses
confidence in Sony and
safety of its products to
customers and
stakeholders
• Dell takes ownership,
shows customers it
cares
• P = Safeguard
PEOPLE
• E = Protect
ENVIRONMENT
• A = Protect ASSETS
• R = Protect
REPUTATION

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83
84
Sony execs’ bow not deep enough?
“We want to put this
behind us. I take this
problem seriously and
I want to finish the
replacement program
as quickly as possible
for the sake of our
users and corporate
customers,”
Corporate Executive Officer
Yutaka Nakagawa, Oct 24,
2006

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85
86
Social Media Listening Command Center

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87
Tips: Detection and Prevention
1. Have planned responses, holding
statements ready
2. Go public on your website with denial if
required
3. Cultivate strong relationships with editors,
influencers
4. Keep employees informed: nip rumours in
the bud on one-to-one basis
Establishing your own social
media listening posts
• Resources: Internally monitor keywords via
search engines, alerts, dashboards, analytics
• Externally use an media monitoring agency to
measure mentions, sentiment, manage social
media channels, monitor keywords, competitors,
issues
• Build relationships with key influencers by
engaging with them online
• Build a social media response chart and assign
staff to monitor and take action where necessary
• Get management buy-in, draw up social media
policy and guidelines for staff engagement

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Measuring sentiment
on social media
• Presence: Followers, fans, mentions, likes,
reactions, reach, inbound links, blog
subscribers
• Engagement: Retweets, social shares,
comments, referral traffic
• Influence: Share of voice, net promoter (vs
detractor), sentiment, number of influencers,
post reach, potential reach, video views
• Action and ROI: Conversions, click-thru-rate,
sales revs, issues resolved, costs per lead,
lead conversion rate, customer lifetime value
Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-
media-kpis-key-performance-indicators/
Social media analytics
• Google Analytics
• Facebook Insights
• Twitter Analytics
• Buffer
• Hootsuite
• Kissmetrics
• Sprout Social
• Meltwater
• Quintly
• Klout
• Socialbakers
• Moz Pro
Bonus: http://simplymeasured.com/freebies#/

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91
Real-time support on Twitter
Crisis communications reactions
POOR
Defensive – take it
personally
Decline to comment
Deny or lie
Deflect – taichi, play
blame game
Downplay
BETTER
Accept – that it has
happened
Acknowledge – to those
affected, media, public
Assure – show you care,
calm fears
Apologize (if you have to)
and be specific, express
regret, suggest remedy
ACT – assess your allies,
plan your action, act out
your plan
92

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93
 Consider People, Environment, Assets, Reputation
• Set up crisis management unit: role-play strategies for dealing
with crisis scenarios involving digital media – blogging, online
video, viral emails, rogue websites.
• Act quickly, search for details, verify allegations, launch
investigation
• Assess allies, call in your experts; notify affected parties,
authorities and higher ups
• Openly and quickly share the facts with the public online
• Show you care, don’t over-react or take it personally
• Accept responsibility when you are at fault
• Prepare a statement and stand by it; when in doubt, leave out
• Tell the truth and be confident
Social Media Crisis Summary
Exercise
• Write a holding statement for a crisis provided
• Write three key messages you would share
with the media
• Write an opening statement in a press
conference for that crisis
• Anticipate questions and defend your
statement

48. 48
Crisis planning & preparation
International School
Of Communication

49. 49
Key objectives for crisis planning
• Enable efficient response
• Overcome decision-making
paralysis
• Seize the golden hour
• Establish self immediately as go-to
source of information
• Make voice heard before others fill
the vacuum
• Fast communication conveys
control and competence. Silence is
interpreted as guilt
“When a crisis hits,
the fundamental issue
becomes the need to
strike a balance between the instincts
of human compassion; the demands
of public relations; and the dictates of
corporate survival.”
(Source: New York Times, 14 December 1994)

50. 50
• To establish guidelines on how to deal with
various crises
• To coordinate communications internally and
externally
• To provide a quick check list to assess the
situation and how to respond to it
Why a crisis communications plan?
To factually assess the damage and
determine necessary or appropriate
response.
Identify parties that will be informed of
situation
Gather and communicate facts of the
situation
Counter or minimise rumours
Restore order and regain public confidence
Plan’s objective

51. 51
Questions to ask:
• WHAT do you want people to know?
• WHO is the audience you are trying to
reach?
• HOW do you intend to communicate
the message?
• WHEN do your messages need to be
disseminated?
Formulating a crisis plan
• List out potential vulnerabilities, issues and crises
• Outline the possible response plans
• Set up a crisis communications team & assign roles
• Build a comprehensive contact detail list of crisis team
members
• Determine the locale of your crisis operations centre or
media centre
• Create a repository of response to the media complete
with fact sheets, background statements, FAQs.
• Determine timeline to release the information
• Create a checklist
• Keep a log of communication with stakeholders
Key considerations - 1

52. 52
• Analyse your internal audience
• Analyse your external audience
• Evaluate the impact of the situation on your
corporate image
• Determine if there are any possible
regulatory or political ramifications related to
the situation (and to your potential response)
• Check if there are any legal consequences
to your communications response
Key considerations - 2
Crisis team
• Legal
• Finance
• HR
• External advisors
• Manage
operational
recovery
• CEO
• Board
Top
management
Crisis
management
team
Other key
players
Key priorities:
• Head of comms
reports to CEO
• Head of comms
liaises with all
other teams
• Efficient
information flow in
all directions
Head of
comms
Media
team
Online
team
Internal
team
Stakeholder
team
Crisis
Communication
Team

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Red book
Protocols Contacts Materials
• Crisis management
rules and procedures
• Declaration of crisis-
cascade
• Responsibilities of
individuals, teams and
department
• Decision making
• Information flow
• Fact gathering
resources and
responsibilities
• Spokespeople
• Office, mobile and
home contact details
• Crisis team
• Key contacts in all
departments
• Key media
• Key external
stakeholders
• “Fill-in-the-blanks
templates for likely
crisis scenarios
• Messages
• Regret-reason-
remedy
• Press releases
• Holding statements
• Q&A documents
• Talking points
• Factsheets
• Briefing documents
• Visuals
Make your Red Book available in hard copy, online, and on USB to be carried by key
team members so its available wherever and whenever needed.
Crisis room: Physical resources
• Dedicated ‘’war room’’ for
crisis comms
• Multiple landlines and
exchange to handle
high volume of calls
• Fast, reliable internet
• Hard copies of all printed crisis resources (including media
and internal contact list)
• Spare mobiles and chargers
• Whiteboards, flipcharts
• TV and radio
• Refreshments
• Press conference venue nearby
• Have an off-site alternative location
• High capacity printer/copier for urgent resources (eg. press
kits)

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Crisis media management systems
• Log all calls using a contact record
sheet
• Ensure every enquiry is answered
• Create and maintain a “rolling brief’’
• Regularly update documents with
the latest position and facts
Dark site and social media
• A crisis ready section of website:
 Activated when needed
 Often replacing website front page
 Background materials, pictures,
biographies, contacts etc.
 Platform for real-time news provision
• Social media: Integrate Facebook,
Twitter and YouTube in your response
plan
• Who has account passwords?

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Internal communication in a crisis
Inform early and keep updating
• Better for them to hear it from you than
to read it in the newspaper
• The longer you wait, the harder to
correct opinions (especially based on
media reports)
Prepare mass system
• e.g. company-wide SMS updates
Stakeholder engagement in a crisis
• Also engage in direct communication
with key stakeholders e.g.
 Customers
 Suppliers
 Partners
 Communities
 Government

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Preparing and rehearsing skills
• Ensure everyone on same page
• Understand their responsibilities
• Can execute their role effectively
• CEO and a deputy
• Local/ regional GMs/MDs
• Six-monthly refresher
• ‘’Set-piece’’ crisis rehearsals
• Involve all teams and departments
• Partner organizations if appropriate
• Access performance and fine tune
Training for comms team
Media training for spokespeople
Simulation for all teams
• A crisis communications plan offers guided
response.
• But it must be adjusted according to the
situation or how the crisis escalates.
• More importantly its how your response is
perceived by your stakeholders:-
Acknowledge the problem,
Accept responsibility,
Assure victims, public, media
Take appropriate Action
Apologise when necessary
Summary