Crisis Communication : Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival

by Anthonissen, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780749454005
• ISBN10: 0749454008
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Kogan Page Ltd

Summary

No company or organisation is immune to crisis. Everyday, organisations run the risk of being affected. However, a crisis does not necessarily have to turn into a disaster for the business or organisation involved. Crisis Communications provides readers with advice on how to limit damage effectively by acting quickly and positively. Moreover, it explains how to turn a crisis into an opportunity by communicating efficiently, through the use of successful public relations strategies. Providing information on accountability; crisis communication planning; building your corporate image; natural disasters; accidents; financial crises; legal issues; corporate re-organisation; food crises; dealing with negative press; media training; and risk managers, Crisis Communications is a thorough guide to help prepare your organisation for any future calamities.

Author Biography

Peter Frans Anthonissen is an expert in the field of reputation management and crisis communication. His clients have included Renault, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the Belgian government. He is a visiting professor at Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and Universiteit Antewerpen Management School in Belgium.

 

Contributors include: Kathryn Blanchard (USA); Roger Bridgeman (USA); Willem Buitelaar (The Netherlands); Marianne de Bruijn (The Netherlands); Tom Gable (USA); Kathryn H Tunheim (USA); Jerry Hendin (USA); Stuart Hyslop (United Kingdom); Nick Leighton (United Arab Emirates); Thom M Serafin (USA); Bob Oltmanns (USA); Steven Pellegrino (USA); Silvia Pendas de Cassina (Mexico); Nuria Sanchez (Spain); Elizabeth Seigenthaler Courtney (USA); Tony Shelton (USA); Odile Vernier (France); Jim Walsh (Ireland); Tim Wallace (USA); Mania Xenou (Greece).

Table of Contents

List of contributors	p. ix
Foreword	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
No thrillers, but hard reality	p. 7
Introduction	p. 7
There are no guarantees	p. 9
Stakeholders are everywhere	p. 10
The accountability factor	p. 10
Annoying threats	p. 11
Crises are challenges	p. 13
Successful crisis communication - principles	p. 14
Learn lessons from what has happened	p. 18
A crisis for every day of the week	p. 18
Conclusion	p. 23
Proactive crisis communication planning	p. 24
Introduction	p. 24
Need for a plan	p. 25
What is a crisis?	p. 25
What a crisis plan provides	p. 28
Elements of a plan	p. 28
People	p. 28
The plan	p. 33
Conclusion	p. 43
Image as a part of corporate strategy	p. 44
Introduction	p. 44
Reputations add value over time	p. 45
Determining how you want to be known	p. 46
Establishing competitive advantage	p. 46
Communicating what you stand for	p. 47
Planning to reach all potential audiences	p. 48
Turning vision into reality	p. 48
Tell real stories	p. 49
Appeal to higher standards, bigger ideas	p. 50
Conclusion	p. 54
Calamities	p. 55
Introduction	p. 55
Aeroplane accidents	p. 56
Natural disasters	p. 59
Being prepared: Alaska Airlines 261	p. 60
When fire strikes - twice	p. 66
Conclusion	p. 71
The new dynamics of financial crisis	p. 73
Introduction	p. 73
Understanding financial crisis	p. 74
Institutional investors: potential agents of crisis	p. 77
Responding to financial crisis	p. 79
Conclusion	p. 86
Fraud	p. 88
Introduction	p. 88
Gather the facts	p. 89
Legal issues must be sorted out	p. 90
Third-party validation	p. 91
Delay and denial compound the problem	p. 92
When your client is a victim of fraud	p. 93
Implementing an action plan	p. 95
Conclusion	p. 96
Reorganization and restructuring	p. 97
Introduction	p. 97
Swiss purchase of US financial services company	p. 98
Moving business from The Netherlands to Germany	p. 100
Goodwill is vital in a closure situation	p. 103
Conclusion	p. 108
A multitude of challenges for the international food sector	p. 109
Food safety	p. 110
Health and diet issues	p. 111
Crisis preparation is the key to success	p. 111
Stakeholders	p. 112
The need for proactive communication	p. 113
The media	p. 113
Conclusion	p. 114
Case study	p. 114
Negative press and how to deal with it	p. 119
Introduction	p. 119
Prepare early and often	p. 120
Mitigate impact with proactive response	p. 121
Detecting a negative story before it appears	p. 123
No ostriches need apply	p. 124
Building bridges toward recovery	p. 126
Conclusion	p. 126
Case study	p. 127
There is no substitute for media training	p. 132
Introduction	p. 132
Who should we train?	p. 133
Who should do the training?	p. 134
Other resources	p. 135
Who are the media?	p. 136
Developing the crisis message	p. 137
Know the rules of the game	p. 138
Conducting the training	p. 140
Conclusion	p. 141
How senior management can make the crisis worse	p. 142
Introduction	p. 142
How it can all go wrong	p. 142
Managing to make it worse	p. 143
Getting it right	p. 144
How to demonstrate leadership	p. 146
Avoidance is endemic	p. 148
The danger signs	p. 149
Conclusion	p. 150
Judgement days	p. 152
Introduction	p. 152
Case study	p. 153
Conclusion	p. 156
Environmental crisis communications	p. 157
Introduction	p. 157
Laying the groundwork: creating a culture of environmental stewardship	p. 159
When a crisis hits	p. 163
Conclusion	p. 168
Crisis communication and the net	p. 169
Introduction	p. 169
The nature of the net... fast, expansive, inclusive and a great leveller	p. 170
New medium, new risks	p. 171
The power to empower a crisis	p. 172
New tools, new opportunities	p. 173
The new ground rules	p. 174
Crisis communications - engagement versus pronouncements	p. 176
Conclusion	p. 177
Organizational barriers to crisis and public affairs management	p. 178
Introduction	p. 178
Dismissing the issue, marginalizing the opposition	p. 179
Averting a crisis by early action	p. 180
Corporate resources can't trump a crisis	p. 181
Responding to a crisis with real process change	p. 182
Assuming a quick fix will make the problem go away	p. 183
Confusing facts with perception	p. 184
Combating the corporate siege mentality	p. 185
Conclusion	p. 186
Risk managers	p. 187
Introduction	p. 187
When brands do not measure up to public opinion	p. 188
'Social autism'	p. 189
Turning public opinion into an asset	p. 189
The brand - its financial and social implications	p. 190
Risks, risk managers and crisis communication	p. 191
Company governance: a new source of crises	p. 195
Conclusion	p. 196
Crisis communication checklists	p. 197
Preparations	p. 197
Public groups and stakeholders	p. 198
Crisis centre	p. 199
What's in your crisis-communication survival kit?	p. 200
Background information	p. 201
Employee training: dealing with the media	p. 202
Crisis manual	p. 202
How to handle a crisis	p. 203
Crisis strategy	p. 204
Crisis communication	p. 206
Appendices
Factual information document	p. 207
Message development document	p. 210
Crisis preparation document	p. 213
Special considerations for dealing with reporters in a crisis	p. 216
Bibliography	p. 217
Index	p. 218
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