Presentation given at TriState Conference for PRSA and part of Communications Week 2016

1. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010Affect Strategies
FLASH FIRES:
Crisis Communications in the Age of Now
Sandra Fathi
President, Affect
Email: sfathi@affect.com
tweet: @sandrafathi
web: affect.com
blog: techaffect.com
Tri-State District Conference, Communications Week
October 18, 2016

2. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 18, 2016Affect
SANDRA FATHI
BIO
Founder and president of Affect, a public relations and social media firm
specializing in technology, healthcare and professional services
o Board Member, PR Council
o Board Member, PRSA-NY
o Past Tri-State District Chair, PRSA
o Past President, PRSA-NY Chapter
o Past President, PRSA Technology Section
sfathi@affect.com
@sandrafathi

3. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
CRISIS WORK
SAMPLE EXPERIENCE
o Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene (ConEd)
o Worker Strike, Manhole Cover Explosion, Building Explosion (ConEd)
o Hit & Run (By Company Employee)
o Sexual Harassment and Executive Misconduct (By CEO)
o Executive Arrest for DUI
o Terrorist Activity Interrupts Operations (Tech Company)
o Foreign Mafia Threats on Executives
o Employee Kidnapping/Release by Militia (EDS)
OCTOBER 18, 2016

4. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
CORE CONCEPTS
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
4 Phases of Crisis Communications
1. Readiness
2. Response
3. Reassurance
4. Recovery
OCTOBER 18, 2016

5. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
CORE CONCEPTS
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
4 Phases of Crisis Communications
1. Readiness
2. Response
3. Reassurance
4. Recovery
In the Age of Now – These Phases Happen
Simultaneously
OCTOBER 18, 2016

6. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
DECISION FLOW CHART
ANATOMY OF A CRISIS
OCTOBER 18, 2016
Good News? Yes: Stop
No: Continue
Factually Correct Yes: Stop
No: Continue
Can We Influence? No: Stop
Yes: Continue
Engage &
Respond

7. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
WHEN CRISIS STRIKES
OCTOBER 18, 2016

8. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
WHEN CRISIS STRIKES
OCTOBER 18, 2016

9. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
PHASE 1: READINESS
PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE
Anticipating a Crisis
1. Crisis Mapping (SWOT Analysis)
2. Policies and Procedures (Prevention)
3. Crisis Monitoring
4. Crisis Communications Plan
5. Crisis Action Plan
6. Crisis Standard Communications Template
OCTOBER 18, 2016

10. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
THREAT MAPPING
RISK ASSESSMENT
Internal
• Employees
• Facilities
• Vendors/Suppliers
• Distributors/Resellers
• Product
External
• Acts of Nature
• Market
• Legal Restrictions/Law
• Customers
• Advocacy Groups
Anticipating & Understanding Threats to a Business
People, Products, Facilities, Environment
OCTOBER 18, 2016

11. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
ANTICIPATING THREATS
Create A Chart:
Potential Threats to Your Business
People Products/
Services
Facilities/
Operations
Environment
Rank Order
High Risk
to
Low Risk
OCTOBER 18, 2016

12. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
PHASE 2: RESPONSE
SPEED & AGILITY
How long before the shit hits the fan?
General guidelines:
1. Twitter - Minutes
2. Facebook – Couple of hours
3. Blog – Up to a day
4. Broadcast – Few hours
5. Print (Local/Industry) - 1-2 Days
6. Print (National) - Up to a few hours
Every Crisis is
Different:
The Rule Is,
There Are No Rules
OCTOBER 18, 2016

13. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SOCIAL MEDIA - FB
DELTA – BLACK DOCTOR
DISCRIMINATION
OCTOBER 18, 2016

14. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
DELTA – BLACK DOCTOR
DISCRIMINATION
First reported
on October 9th
OCTOBER 18, 2016

15. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
DELTA – BLACK DOCTOR
DISCRIMINATION
OCTOBER 18, 2016

16. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
DELTA RESPONDS – 5 DAYS
LATER
OCTOBER 18, 2016

17. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SOCIAL MEDIA
KEEPS STORY ALIVE
OCTOBER 18, 2016

18. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
CRISIS TOOLKIT
RESPONSE RESOURCES
1. Develop materials:
• Messages/FAQ
• Prepared statements
• Press release template
• Customer letters
2. Train employees
• Awareness
• Anticipation
• Organizational Preparation
3. Prepare channels:
• Hotline
• Dark site
• Social Media
OCTOBER 18, 2016

19. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SLOW BURN CRISIS
MYLAN EPIPEN
OCTOBER 18, 2016

20. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SLOW BURN CRISIS
MYLAN EPIPEN
OCTOBER 18, 2016

21. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
TWEETSTORM – A YEAR LATER
MYLAN EPIPEN
OCTOBER 18, 2016

22. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
IMMEDIATE ACTION
BEST PRACTICES
Preparing a Response
1. Don’t delay
2. Acknowledge situation
3. Acknowledge impact and ‘victims’
4. Commit to investigate
5. Commit to sharing information and cooperation with relevant parties
6. Share corrective action plan if available
7. Respond in the format in which the crisis was received**
OCTOBER 18, 2016

23. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
RESPONSE OUTLINE
CRITICAL INFORMATION
Prepare a Template Crisis Response:
1. What happened?
2. What do we know about it?
3. Who/what was impacted?
4. How do we feel about it? (How should we feel?)
5. What are we going to do about it?
6. When are we going to do it?
7. When/how will we communicate next?
OCTOBER 18, 2016

24. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SAMSUNG RECALL
HOW DID WE GET HERE
OCTOBER 18, 2016

25. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SAMSUNG TIMELINE
GALAXY NOTE 7
Aug 7 – Samsun unveils Galaxy Note 7
Aug 19 – Galaxy Note 7 selling in 10 markets (including US)
Aug 24 – Report of Note 7 explosion in South Korea
Sept 2 – Samsung recalls 2.5 million Note 7 phones citing faulty batteries
Sept 8 – FAA advises passengers not to turn on or charge Note 7 on an aircraft or storw
in cargo
Sept 9 - US Consumer Product Safety Commission urges users to stop using their
phone
Sept 15 – US Consumer Product Safety Commission formally recalls 1M Note 7 phones
Sept 16 – Florida man sues Samsung for burns from Note 7 explosion
Sept 19 Samsung starts Note 7 exchange program in South Korea
OCTOBER 18, 2016

26. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SAMSUNG TIMELINE
GALAXY NOTE 7
October 9 – AT&T, T-Mobile halt issuing new Note 7 due
to safety concerns
October 10 – Samsung says it’s adjusting Note 7
shipments for inspections, quality control due to more
phones catching fire.
October 11 – Samsung permanently halts sales and
production of Note 7 phones and asks customers to stop
using the phones as it investigates reports of fires in new
devices
October 15 – FAA Issues Emergency Order Banning Note 7
cellphones on Aircraft
OCTOBER 18, 2016

27. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SAMSUNG RESPONSE
CAN YOU FIND IT
OCTOBER 18, 2016

28. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
SAMSUNG RESPONSE
CAN YOU FIND IT
OCTOBER 18, 2016

29. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
PHASE 3: REASSURANCE
DOSE OF MEDICINE
Who to Reassure? How to Reassure?
1. Develop full response plan
2. Put plan into action: Immediate remedy
3. Communicate results of plan and impact
4. Reaffirm commitment to correction
5. Demonstrate results of program
OCTOBER 18, 2016

30. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
PHASE 4: RECOVERY
LONG-TERM TREATMENT PLAN
Rebuilding reputation, trust and customer loyalty
Implementing preventative measures for long-term crisis mitigation
and/or prevention
1. Review need for operational, regulatory, environmental and employee
changes
2. Develop long-term plan including policies and prevention tactics
3. Reassess crisis plan
4. Regain customer/public trust
OCTOBER 18, 2016

31. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
1. Implement Policies to Address Potential
Vulnerabilities
2. Use Social Media as a Tool for Crisis Monitoring
3. Understand the Response-ability of Social Media
4. Establish a Framework for Response
5. Build a Social Media Crisis Toolkit
10 KEY TAKEAWAYS
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
OCTOBER 18, 2016

32. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
6. Know Where to Respond
7. Prepare Your Employees in Advance
8. Establish the Proper Tone
9. Kill the Automation Switch
10. Be Honest, Be Transparent
10 KEY TAKEAWAYS
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
OCTOBER 18, 2016

33. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIALAffect
RESOURCES
White Paper:
Crisis Communications in the Social Media Age
Download at: Affect.com
OCTOBER 18, 2016

34. PROPRIETARY & CONFIDENTIAL March 4, 2010Affect Strategies
Sandra Fathi
President, Affect
Email: sfathi@affect.com
tweet: @sandrafathi
web: affect.com
blog: techaffect.com
Slides Available: Slideshare.net/sfathi