Crisis Management

You have spent all year promoting the positive aspects of your products, services and people. Suddenly, an unanticipated incident, improperly handled, can wipe out your communications efforts in a single day. Your reputation is at stake.

Whether it is an accidental chemical spill, a worker injury, or a computer malfunction, any number of events can generate negative publicity and damage your firm’s economic future.

To minimize the damage, you need to take charge of the emergency situation and handle it professionally. From the Tylenol package tampering of 1975 to the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, public relations experts have developed best practices to handle emergency communications.

Get the facts. Designate a single, trained spokesperson. Be polite, not argumentative. Give accurate information to the media. Don’t let them rely only on rumors or uninformed sources. Don’t ever lie.

These are only some of the basics of emergency communications. We can help update and test your crisis communications plan.