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Preparing for Crises Today:The “Whys” and “Hows” of the Crisis
Communication Plane
W. Timothy CoombsProfessor
Texas A&M [email protected]
Preview
• Changing nature of crises• Crisis communication plan• Are you prepared?• Developing a plan
Changing Nature of Crises
Zombies as a metaphor
Zombies
Afro-Caribbean(Classical)
Viral(Modern)
Zombies
Share• Desire for flesh, especially
brains
Differ• Zombification process• Strategy
Organizational Crises
Classical(Operations)
Modern(Reputation)
Classical
• Operational focus• Concern for public safety and welfare (focus
on stakeholders)• Basic elements of crisis management– Crisis management plan– Containment efforts– Responses
Ankara, Turkey Six Killed, need to Evacuate
Modern (Reputation or Social Media Crisis)
• Reputation emphasis• Focus on the organization not stakeholder
Crises
Shared• Pose threat to organization
and/or stakeholders
Differ• Difficulty in identifying• Difficulty in responding
The Crisis Communication Plan
ValueWhat it is
DigitalCrisis Team
Crisis Communication Plan (CCP)
• Not magic insurance policy• Not step-by-step guide• About 60% of major corporations have them
CCP Value
• Saves time in response– Pre-collect information– Pre-assign tasks
• Save lives, reduce exposure, and aid remedial action
Crisis Communication Plan
• Short and useable • Contact information• Pre-written messages• Reminders to document
CCP contact information
• Crisis Management Team Contact• Secondary Contacts
Crisis Appendix
• Precollected information• Templates for communications• Past crisis knowledge
Responding to aReputational Threat
The Response
• Should the organization address the reputational threat? (Does it matter?)– Is it lingering– Is it spreading– Is it legitimate
• Does the organization need to make changes or to defend its actions?
Do not forget Digital
Digital/Internet
• Link from home or separate page• Dark site• Stealth blogs (pre-prepared messages)– Same for Twitter
Integration
• Digital channels linked– Web site is core (most information)– Other channels link to web site– Adapt the message to the social media channel• 140 characters Twitter• Facebook post verses a blog
Crisis Team
Selection
Training
Are You Prepared?
Readiness Quiz
• Do you have a document(s) that assesses your crisis risks?– If yes, when was the last time it was revised?– Is it comprehensive/integrated or a set of separate
documents?
Readiness Quiz
• Do you have a system for scanning for crisis threats?– If yes, do you identify specific red flags associated
with crises?• Do you have a risk review committee that
meets regularly?
Readiness Quiz
• Do you have a crisis management plan?– If yes, when was the last time it was revised?– If yes, have you ever tested it?
Readiness Quiz
• Do you have a social media plan?• Is there a connection between your crisis
management plan and social media plan?
Readiness Quiz
• Do you have a crisis team?– If yes, was the crisis team given any training?– If yes, when was the last training exercise?
Developing a Plan … and More
Developing a Plan
• What are your major risks?– Types of crises– Warning signs & Monitoring
• Who needs to be involved?– Inside the organization– Outside experts
• What channels are we using?
CCP is not EnoughFalse sense of security
Just a rough guide
A Living documentMust be tested
