We’ve all seen how a PR crisis plays out. Whether it was CEO of Papa John’s use of racial slurs, or model Kendall Jenner’s infamous Pepsi campaign gone wrong, America has had a front row seat to some of the biggest public relations blunders in history, resulting in many of us asking, “How could these companies let that happen?”
I recently attended PR Newswire’s Virtual Crisis Communications Conference where marketing and public relations teams from some of the biggest brands, including Southwest Airlines, Weight Watchers, Chipotle and Capital One, joined together to talk about the impact a PR crisis can have on your company, and most importantly, why it’s critical to have a plan in place before a crisis strikes. Their biggest piece of advice? Plan ahead.
Think about when you first learned how to drive a car. You were told to always keep your eyes on the road and to look to your rearview and sideview mirrors for support, but that you must always account for the places you can’t see: your blind spots.
Crisis communications plans are just that, recognizing you have blind spots and using them to plan for the unpredictable. While you may be wondering how to plan for something that hasn’t happened yet, I assure you it can be done (and without the need for psychic powers).
Behind every good crisis communications plan is a crisis playbook, which is made up of these five elements:
“In the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.” Payal Patel, Communications Director at Chicago’s popular tourist destination, Navy Pier, ended her presentation at the PR Newswire conference with this quote. If there is one more piece of advice I can leave you with, it’s this: While crisis communications may sound intimidating, look at it as a way to strengthen your company’s brand and improve its systems, both on an internal and public level. It’s a great opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and when done successfully, it can change the trajectory of your company for the better.
Now more than ever, brand reputation can make or break a company. If your company does not have a strong crisis communications plan in place and would like to create a playbook of its own, we’re here to help.