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Crisis Communications: Preparation & Response Sara M. Antol, Esq. Robert E. Butter, APR

Crisis Communications: Preparation & Response · • Phases of Crisis Management ... Essential Crisis Principles • Scenario-map; ... • Practice actual crisis scenarios

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Crisis Communications:

Preparation & Response

Sara M. Antol, Esq.

Robert E. Butter, APR

Courts of Law & Public Opinion

Today’s Discussion

• One Painful Example of a Crisis and Response

• Phases of Crisis Management

• Crisis vs. Issue

• Six Steps of Crisis Planning

• The Legal Role within Crisis Management

• As a Crisis Unfolds

• What Not to Do

A Crisis in the Media – KTVU Newscast

Asiana Flight Disaster: KTVU Newscast “Blunder,” Later Apology – July

The Unraveling of the KTVU Crisis

14-Jul-13 24-Jul-13

6-Jul-13 12-Jul-13 15-Jul-13 27-Jul-13

Asiana Airlines announces plans to sue KTVU and possibly the NTSB for "badly damaging its reputation"

Asiana Airlines decides not to proceed with lawsuit because of the immediacy and sincerity of KTVU's on-air apology

NTSB "confirms" pilot names

Timeline - Asiana Airline Pilot Name Incident

Asiana Airlines

Flight 214

Crashes at

San Francisco

International

Airport

KTVU airs "Confirma-tion" of names during Noon news broadcast

NTSB issues statement apologizing and promising to take steps to ensure this never happens again

KTVU profoundly apologizes in two on-air and social media statements for succumbing to blunder

NTSB fires the intern who confirmed the names with KTVU

KTVU fires three producers connected to the broadcast that went awry

Business News Coverage of Crises

Most Newsworthy Crises in Business

Phases of Crisis Management

PREVENT PROTECT CURE RECOVEREVALUATE

MONITOR

Crisis or Issue?

Crisis An event that can create a firestorm of harshly negative media coverage and damage the reputation, valuation or future viability of an organization.

IssueAn external or internal factor – usually lasting over a mid-to long-range timeframe – that could represent a serious obstacle to achieving an organization’s objective and cause damage to its reputation if not managed well.

Conversely, if managed well, it could represent an opportunity to further the organization’s mission and enhance its reputation.

Essential Crisis Principles

• Scenario-map; always assume the worst-case scenario

• Ensure that you have a plan; it sensitizes management to the

negative possibilities

• Don't lose precious time

• People always come first; be humane; express concern and what

you plan to do

• Learn lessons from what has happened in your sector/industry

• Consider what law suits will ensue, but not at the expense of

caring about people and safety

Six Steps of Crisis Planning

1 • Identify the Issues

2• Develop a Team

3• Develop Policies and Standards

4 • Prepare Responses

5 • Train and Practice

6 • Update and Review

Step 1 – Identify the Issues

Scenario Planning

Brainstorming

Step 1 – Identify the Issues

What Keeps

You Up at

Night?

Categories of Crises

• Natural Disasters

• Technological or System Failures

• Confrontations

• Malevolent Acts

• Organizational Misdeeds

• Workplace Violence

• Rumors

• Terrorist Attacks

Categories of Crises

Natural Disasters - Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Tsunami’s

Categories of Crises

Technological or System Failures - Exxon Valdez, BP in the Gulf,

Adobe Software breach, product recalls

Categories of Crises

Confrontations - boycotts, pickets, UPMC-Highmark, Russian

Vodka, Barilla Pasta

Categories of Crises

Malevolent Acts - product tampering, kidnapping, Tylenol,

Sandy Hook Elementary

Categories of Crises

Organizational Misdeeds - Penn State, Enron, Lehman Bros.,

Anthony Weiner, Martha Stewart, etc.

Categories of Crises

Workplace Violence -Western Psych, Washington, D.C. Navy

Yard Shooting

Categories of Crises

Rumors - Wall Street trading, acquisition leak, digital/social

media, P&G Pamper Drylock Diapers, Snapple

Categories of Crises

Terrorist Attacks - 911, London subway, Boston Marathon

Crisis/Issue Planning Model

Crisis/Issue Planning Model

Step 2 – Develop a Team

• Define the team

CEO

Regulatory OperationsPR & Corp.

AffairsLegal

Risk Management

Marketing

• Responsible to prepare the plan, meet regularly to

update and test it

Step 3 – Develop Policies and Standards

• Guiding principles that will apply in every crisis

scenario

o Emergency response plan, policies

oMedia and social media policies

oDesignated spokespeople, trained for media activity

o Internal/external phone and e-mail contact information

oBusiness Continuity plan at the ready

• Honesty, timeliness, directness and ethical standards

• Follow and support the legal strategy

Step 4 – Prepare Responses

• For each issue, identify all affected audiences

• Define the scope of the issue and establish a unified

response

• Keep message simple, clear, consistent and tailored

• Prepare materials for each scenario

oMedia statements

oPress releases

oMedia contact information

oPotential questions and answers

Step 5 – Train and Practice

• Clearly identify all members roles and responsibility

• Train the team and other potentially affected

employees

• Practice actual crisis scenarios

• Make sure there are well-defined communication

and notification lists to ensure immediate access to

all team members

Step 6 – Update and Review

• Review and update as circumstances change

(mergers, acquisitions, new product lines, etc…)

• Review issues inventory quarterly

• Review emergency and crisis plans annually

• If crisis occurs, review and evaluate response and

modify plans and process for improvements

Legal Counsel’s Role - Planning

• Integral to crisis management planning

• Important role of communicating/sharing with Board

• Connect to Business Continuity planning

• Assemble own team of outside advisors

• Pre-designed written materials at the ready

Legal Counsel’s Role – When the Crisis Hits

• Legal counsel needs to be among first notified and plays

a critical role on the response team

• Legal counsel may lead an investigation

• Lawyers are generally not the best spokespeople

– Inherent public distrust of lawyers

– Propensity for initial reaction to be “no comment”

• Resist “no comment”… it feels defensive, suspect;

other ways to be affirmative without providing detail

Legal Counsel’s Role – Working with the Team

Apologies & Transparency

Apologies & Transparency

• Use of apologies in response to a crisis creates

particular issues from a legal perspective, yet can be

important and effective

• Being transparent does not have to mean falling on

your sword or being “extreme”

• Conversely, admitting wrongdoing can help your cause

in both courts of law and public opinion

• Interests must be weighed; think “credibility” with legal

safeguard in mind

As a Crisis Unfolds…

1. Characterize that the situation is under control, protect people,

property

2. Determine news value of situation; decide if/when to go public

3. Gather all the facts; don’t speculate

4. Develop message points; anticipate questions w/answers

5. Confirm, prepare spokespeople; no such thing as ‘off the record’

6. Provide script for those answering phones; log all calls

7. Draft, distribute statement or news release; press conference if

necessary

8. Show concern for public, employees

9. Share information with employees

As a Crisis Unfolds…

10. Rehearse spokespeople

11. Give media all the news; control information flow

12. Tell it all, tell it fast, and tell the truth

13. Be honest; do the right thing; prepare for/discuss remediation

14. Monitor traditional, digital media

15. Be prepared to answer all “hot seat” questions, then bridge to a

positive position

16. Consider some act of goodwill or positive gesture in the

aftermath

17. Maintain contact with media; update as necessary

18. If a mistake is made, admit it and begin the process of re-

establishing credibility

What Not to Do

1. Play ostrich

2. Start to work on a potential crisis after it’s public

3. Let your reputation speak for you

4. Treat the media like the enemy

5. Get stuck in reaction mode versus getting proactive

6. Use language your audience doesn't understand

7. Don't listen to your stakeholders

8. Assume that truth will triumph over all

9. Address only issues and ignore feelings

10. Make only written statements

11. Use "best guess" methods of assessing damage

12. Not coordinating every major action step with legal counsel

Thank You!