Full Frontal PR Report
Tom Wilson

Crisis situations are when PR agencies and departments quickly prove their value. Being prepared for a crisis is critical—especially for companies that are prone to troubling or controversial situations (uh, healthcare, anyone?).

In preparation for any media announcement, especially in a crisis, identify an appropriate—and media trained—corporate spokesperson. It is critical for a company to have one spokesperson who can effectively and articulately convey the company’s position and key messages. All staff should be reminded not to make comments on behalf of the company; media inquires should be directed to the company spokesperson.

Avoid the phrase “no comment” at all costs! That blatantly puts you at a disadvantage and invites media to draw their own (too often negative) conclusions. If the crisis is immediate, the proper response is, “We are actively investigating this incident and working to resolve the situation, and will provide additional information as soon as it is [made] available.”

In most cases, you have less than 24 hours to respond to the public when a crisis hits. Pre-prepared written press materials can, therefore, aide in the disseminating the correct information. Standby statements, press releases and media alerts are a few of the basic tools that are useful in times of trouble.

If the company is at fault, admit it. Covering up mistakes will only lead to further crises or more fatal corporate disasters.

And finally, be responsive to media inquires. Providing the media with the above mentioned spokespeople and materials can aide a company in a quick recovery from corporate crisis. Also, remember to adhere to the company’s mission statement throughout the crisis. A mission statement is viewed as the backbone of a company. If the mission statement is compromised, then the company will be too.

If you have the luxury of preparing for a potentially harmful announcement, a similar path should be followed. Select a spokesperson and develop position statements in advance. Then, when the moment of truth arrives, a simple review of message points and tailoring of the position statement allows more time to effectively communicate and rectify the problem at hand.

Former RLM exec Tom Wilson is a PR pro who works in communications at American Express.