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Monthly Newsletter: The MVPR Spectrum
Preparing to Meet the Challenge of Crisis Communications
Apr 30 2003
Hello -
Welcome to the first edition of the MVPR Spectrum, an electronic newsletter published by Mt. Vernon PR & Communications. It is our intention to publish this newsletter on a monthly basis, featuring topics of interest to communications professionals and others in corporate and association management. You are receiving this email either because you subscribed or were referred as someone who would be interested in the content. Feel free to forward it to your friends and colleagues who might enjoy it; they can opt in by clicking on the "subscribe" link below. If you do not wish to receive future issues, please scroll down to the "unsubscribe" link and opt out.
The topic of our inaugural issue is Crisis Communications, an area for which many of us have responsibility but few or no resources to develop. The newsletter touches on some of the key components of crisis communications planning, excerpted from our white paper on crisis communications. If you are interested in reading more about the planning and implementation of crisis communications, please feel free to go to our Web site at http://www.mtvernonpr.com/pdf/CrisisComm.pdf and download your free copy of the white paper: "The Crisis Communications Challenge: Are You Prepared?" Also, if you would like to sign on to our white paper alert service, click on this link: http://www.mtvernonpr.com/resources_wp.asp
While you are there, check out our resources page and click on the links to some of the Web sites we have found helpful. And, coming in May, look for our newsletter featuring information on improving the usefulness of your online newsroom. If there are topics you'd be interested in seeing here, please contact us at info@mtvernonpr.com and give us your suggestions.
Best Regards,
Rosanne Desmone
Principal, Mt. Vernon PR & Communications
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MVPR Spectrum
Volume 1, Number 1
April 30, 2003
The MVPR Spectrum is published monthly by Mt. Vernon PR & Communications to provide our friends and clients with information on public relations and communications topics that we trust will be useful and/or interesting.
***Preparing to Meet the Challenge of Crisis Communications
No organization - big, small, for-profit, not-for-profit, public, or private - is crisis-proof. Regardless of what you might believe, there is a crisis in your future… perhaps tomorrow, possibly next week or next year, or perhaps not for several years… but it's lurking there. The only real uncertainty is whether you'll be ready for it and can prevent it from becoming a full-scale disaster.
What will that crisis look like? From an "Act of God" like a flood or an earthquake, to an internal financial crisis (think Enron), to a terrorist attack, the possibilities are almost endless. You could experience a hostile takeover, a regulatory shutdown, the sudden death of your CEO, a scandal at the Board level, a letter bomb, product liability issues, misuse of confidential information, an employee error, or any number of other problems.
There are two possible ways to handle crisis communications: on the fly or according to plan. In the first case, you're in reactive mode and probably not able to gain control of what's going on, plus you're more vulnerable to making mistakes, saying the wrong thing, and blundering in more ways than you want to think about. A planned approach to crisis communication limits the number of decisions you must make in crisis mode and gives you the tools you need to get right on top of things - and maintain control. The truth of the matter is that the longer you take to respond to crisis, the greater the likelihood that your organization will suffer some kind of damage to its reputation, credibility, and value.
Following are some of the steps in preparing your crisis communications plan:
- Pull together a crisis communication team and work with them to develop the plan.
- Brainstorm to identify areas where you're vulnerable - where potential crises could be lurking.
- Begin to gather information that will help you respond to any crisis that occurs: organizational overviews, specifics on various parts of the organization, key messages and a list of FAQs.
- Develop an internal communications protocol so employees can be filled in on what is happening as you get information.
- Identify spokespersons who will deal with the media and procedures for coordinating media contacts.
Committing the plan to paper or electronic media isn't the final step. You need to:
- Make sure everyone who needs the information has it.
- Keep copies everywhere so they will be available - or put it online where it is accessible.
- Appoint someone to keep it updated as changes occur in the organization. You don't want to pull it out a year from now and find out a third of the key players are gone or not at their old phone numbers.
Finally, you have to test the plan - do a run-through or rehearsal to make sure what you have planned will work. Have some fun with this… it is serious business, but an afternoon offsite is always good to clear the cobwebs and give you a different perspective. Based on the run-through, make adjustments in the plan as needed.
***Audiencecentral.com
audiencecentral.com, formerly PIER System, is a site we heard about recently from a communications professional who's used it and praised it. We mention it here simply because it could be an option for storing and managing all your crisis communication information… or other project information that needs to be made available to lots of folks in various locations. MVPR has no relationship or experience with audiencecentral.com; it's just another resource we thought might be of interest. Check out the resources area at www.mtvernonpr.com find links to other interesting sites.
*** News Release Distribution Options
For public companies, news release distribution has pretty much been limited to PRNewswire or Business Wire. Is that still the case? And what about the rest of us? There are online distribution companies that ask only for a donation, as well as several smaller competitors of PRN and BizWire. If you're familiar with or use any of these options, we'd be interested in hearing about your experience with them. Send your comments to info@mtvernonpr.com and we'll share the information in an upcoming newsletter.
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Mt. Vernon PR & Communications (MVPR) provides a full range of public relations and marketing communications services to companies and associations on the move, in a hurry, and determined to stay on top. We specialize in creating and enhancing your visibility and credibility in the marketplace, using your unique capabilities and expertise as the building blocks. For more information about Mt. Vernon PR & Communications, please visit our web site at http://www.mtvernonpr.com
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