Emergency

Response Guide

Prepared by Grady Miller on

03/20/12

Tested 04/01/12 and 04/02/12

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CRISIS INVENTORY .......................................................................................................................... PG. 3

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. PG. 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. PG. 5

REHERSAL ............................................................................................................................................ PG. 6

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................... PG. 6

KEY PUBLICS ....................................................................................................................................... PG. 6

MEDIA SPOKESPERSON .................................................................................................................... PG. 6

INTERVIEW TIPS ................................................................................................................................. PG. 7

TRICK QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................ PG. 7

RECALL ROSTER ............................................................................................................................... PG. 8

CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM ................................................................................................................. PG. 9

EMERGENCY PERSONNEL .............................................................................................................. PG. 9

EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES CRISIS CONTROL ROOM .................................................................... PG. 9

PREGATHERD INFORMATION ..................................................................................................... PG. 10

BLANK PRESS RELEASE ................................................................................................................ PG. 11

FACTS SHEET .................................................................................................................................... PG. 12

INTERNET SOURCES ........................................................................................................................ PG. 12

KEY MESSAGES ................................................................................................................................ PG. 12

HOLDING STATEMENT .................................................................................................................. PG. 12

BLOG RESPONSE .............................................................................................................................. PG. 12

EVALUATION .................................................................................................................................... PG. 12

Crisis Inventory

Malfunction of

product due to

employee tampering,

causing death.

4

Rumors of the 2010

Toyota “gas pedal

sticking” incident being

the result of employee

tampering on assembly

line.

Cases of product

tampering in non-

related products such as

Pepsi and Tylenol.

34 alleged deaths, 4 million vehicles recalled

stock dropped 20% in 2 weeks. Toyota brand is

recovering but name is still tarnished.

A comprehensive PR campaign produced a

response which not only helped the companies

recover but also emerge with an improved

relationship between producer and consumer.

Malfunction of

product because of

faulty manufactured

part, causing death.

5

Faulty or

malfunctioned parts are

our biggest risk but

cannot always be

predicted. There are

numerous recorded

incidents of auto recalls

due to parts.(i.e Ford

Expedition recall 2001,

200+deaths

In all cases, recalls are initiated which causes a

rapid and enormous plummet in sales. The brand

name is damaged for years and trust must be

gained back from consumers.

Work stoppage due

to employee strike.

5

Strikes are

unpredictable and can

occur at any time. The

auto industry has been

unstable as of late,

leaving employees

uneasy.

Attack waged from

environmentalist

who publicly blame

auto companies for

pollution.

2

It has been many years

since a combined and

organized campaign

against automakers has

never been successful

forged but it is still a

remote threat.

Various environmental groups have been

lobbying against auto makers for more than 40

years. These groups have had some success with

getting congress to regulate emission in 1968,

then vehicle sizes and fuel efficiency a few

years later. Also, the number of battery operated

cars being produced has increased 87% in the

past three years.

Company facing

foreclosure due to

low sales

4

A struggling economy

has led to the

foreclosure of many

businesses in the U.S.

and the auto industry

has been hit the hardest.

GM has been directly affected by the economy

by having to discontinue two of its brands,

Pontiac and Saturn in 2009 and Hummer in

2010.

Crisis Prob. Prodromes

Results from crisis

Introduction

This crisis preparation plan has been created by the Public Relations department of General Motors. This

plan should be used to minimize the extent, duration, and recovery time of an emergency situation.

Failure to comply with the procedures outlined in this manual could result in loss of jobs, assets, or even

deaths.

In 2010, the Toyota Car Company recalled over four million vehicles after 34 deaths occurred due to a

malfunctioned accelerator in newly manufactured vehicles. Initial rumors of employee tampering

prompted the General Motors public relations department to prepare a plan to be implemented in the

event that a similar tragedy should occur within the Company. Public relation professionals have spent

months creating and practicing this plan. It is a meticulous, step-by-step manual that will help guide you

throughout this crisis. Please follow the material inside thoroughly.

Acknowledgements

By signing this statement, I verify that I have read this crisis communications plan and am prepared to put

it into effect.

XDaniel F. Akerson

GM Chairman and CEO

XMark L. Reuss

GM Vice President and President, North America

XSelim Bingol

GM Vice President, Global Communications

Rehearsal To obtain maximum effectiveness and accuracy and to ensure personnel understand the steps outlined in

this manual, procedures should be rehearsed once every quarter.

Purpose and Objectives In this crisis situation, fatality(s) has been caused because of a malfunctioning part or part(s) in a General

Motor vehicle and has been linked backed to assembly line tampering by an employee. This crisis

communication plan was created to assist the public relations manager on whom to notify and in what

order; how to communicate and keep information flowing to the media and various publics; how to

organize a press conference; how to minimize and control damages; how to get the company back on

track to returning to normal business operations; and how to evaluate the crisis. In the listed order, the PR manager must every effort to:

1. Initiate the Crisis Communications plan within the first hour of the incident.

2. Notify key company officials and family of the deceased.

3. Release a holding statement on all General Motor websites sympathizing for the deceased and

ensuring public that a thorough investigation is underway and announce recall of all vehicles

believed to be defective.

4. Notify internal public such as employees, retirees and stakeholders.

5. Prepare a media release giving details of the 5w’s.

6. Arrange a press conference to release further details and any new findings.

7. Continue to notify the publics as soon as new information becomes available.

Key Publics Internal:

Daniel F. Akerson General Motors Chairman and CEO

(contact info)

Mark L. Reuss General Motors Vice President and President, General North America

Selim Bingol General Motors Vice President, Global Communications

External:

Robin Robinson TV News Personnel WFLD

(contact info)

Walter Jacobson TV News Personnel WBBM

Linda Yu TV News Personnel WLS-TV

John Howell Radio News Personnel AM560 WIND

Don Wade Radio News Personnel WLS 890 AM

Media Spokesperson The media spokesperson must be well informed, articulate, accessible and able to make decisions to

change policies. At least two backups should be in place as well in case primary becomes available. In

this case the spokesperson and backups are:

Daniel F. Akerson General Motors Chairman and CEO

(contact info)

(Back-ups)

Mark L. Reuss General Motors Vice President and President, General North America

Selim Bingol General Motors Vice President, Global Communications

Interview tips for spokesperson It is the spokesperson job to give out the facts surrounding the crisis and reassure the publics. The

rebuilding of the brand begins with the spokesperson. Some tips for him are:

Be apologetic to the family of the deceased

Don’t make excuses

Listen to questions in their entirety before answering

Tell the truth

Be accessible and pleasant

Do not guess or speculate. If an answer is not known say so and let the interviewer know that you

will get back to them when more information becomes available

Be confident

Do not smoke, chew gum or wear sunglasses

Be aware of trick questions

Do not be trapped into predicting the future

Look reporters in the eye and address each one by name when responding, if possible

Remember, nothing is off the record

Trick Questions All spokesperson must be well rehearsed on talking to the media and avoiding questions that can worsen

the crisis. Some question that they should look out for are:

Leading question: “So, you are saying there aren’t enough precautions taken to eliminate product

tampering, correct?”

Loaded question: “Isn’t it true that it was well documented that the employee who tampered with the parts

had been disgruntled for months but nothing was done about it?”

Naïve question: “Can you tell me how do the parts go into the cars?”

Know-it-all question: “We have reports that the employee responsible has a history of mental problems.

What we don’t know is if there were any prior discrepancies on the job with him/her that led up to this

point?”

Accusatory question: “Do you think that this entire crisis could have been avoided if the employee’s

psychiatrist would have realized the severity of his/her mental sickness.”

Chummy question: “Hey off the record, the person who did this has to be bird brain crazy, right?”

Directory

A recall roster of all pertinent figures should be placed here.

Crisis Response Team The crisis response team consist of the public relations professionals in the company. Please include the

name and contact info of the PR manager, PR specialist, and volunteers associated with GM. Also include

the after-hours number where they can be reach. This team is immediately notify after a crisis and has to

begin the Crisis Communication

Emergency Personnel Chicago Police 3510 South Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60653

Phone: 312.744.4000

Chicago Fire Department

419 S Wells St

Chicago, IL 60607

(312) 922-1700

Mercy Hospital

2525 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

(312) 567-2000

Equipment and Supplies for Crisis Control Room A crisis control room must be established ASAP. This is where all the information will be following from

and where reporters will stay at throughout the crisis. Reporters should be made comfortable and PR

personnel and volunteers must have enough supplies to last a few days. Needed equipment includes:

Mult-box

TV’s (more than one)

Chairs

Desks

Computers

Manuel Typewriters

Bulletin boards

Flip charts

Printers

Phones

Battery powered TV and radios

Police radio

Walkie talkies

Pens and pencils

Media directories

Press kits

Crisis plan

Street and highway maps

Food and beverages

Copying machines

First aid kits

Cameras and film

Pregathered Information Safety records

Safety precautions

Backgrounders

Executive biographies

Annual reports

Photos

Maps of site

Location of offices

Fact sheets

Phone books

Fill in the blank news releases

Internet sources

For Immediate Release (Date)

(Name) General Motors

(Phone) (email)

General Motors apologizes to family and Initiates Recall after fatality CHICAGO-(Date)- General Motor has offered a former apology today to the (fatality’s) family after it was discovered that (Victims name) died after a crash due to a malfunctioning part. General Motor has also discovered that the malfunction occurred due to product tampering from a disgruntled assembly-man at a (city factory located) factory. (Facts surrounding the tampering incident/Background information on the malfunctioning part and how the incident occurred) “It is a tragic day for automakers worldwide,” said GM’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Akerson. “We mourn with the (victim’s last name) family and have initiated this recall to help offer a piece of mind to our consumers.” (Facts about the recall i.e how many vehicles being recalled, locations of recalls) If you have any questions about this recall please visit our website at www.gm.com or call us at (include 800 number associated with the GM brand of defected vehicle.) General Motors Co. and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM’s brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling.

# # #

Facts Sheet Recalled vehicles:

The number of automobile recalls in the U.S. has sharply increased in the last 2 decades, and the number

of units involved are often counted in the millions. In 2010 alone, over 20 million vehicles were recalled

in the United States, and the massive recalls of full model lines by Toyota have brought this issue to the

front pages around the country and the world. However, there is no quantitative evidence of the effect of

recalls on safety. Without that evidence, the government and insurance companies have been reluctant to

request and use more detailed recall information to increase correction rates, and regulators have not

studied the possible link between the growing number of recalls and the risk of life for consumers.

Internet Sources These following are websites were reporters can go to find more information on deaths called by vehicle

malfunctions and vehicle recalls:

http://ms.cc.sunysb.edu/~hbenitezsilv/recall.pdf

www.gm.com

http://www.firestone-tire-recall.com/pages/overview.html

http://www.toyota.com/recall/

http://pressroom.toyota.com/safety-recall/

Key Messages Key messages will provide the company with the theme that they are setting out to achieve by outlining

the focus points that the Crisis Communication team wants to highlight. In this case, in order to reassure

the public of their safety and minimize fallout the key messages are: 1. Our biggest concern is for the family of the deceased

2. We are sorry this has happened and take full responsibility.

3. We want to calm the public and let them know we are doing everything in our power to ensure no other

fatalities by issuing recalls and re- inspections.

4. The person responsible acted alone and this was an isolated incident.

5. We have the situation under control and the matter is being taking extremely serious and a thorough

investigation will be conducted.

Holding Statement The General Motors family extends is deepest apologies to the (last name of deceased) family. We have

always been a company that represents and was built upon family values. A terrible tragedy has occurred

and we are doing all that we can to ensure the safety of all GM drivers. If you believe your automobile

has been compromised please bring your vehicle to the nearest GM facility.

Blog Responses In order to limit spread of rumors and negative information, blogs should be continually monitored. PR

representative should respond to negative blogs timely and responses should reflect the key messages and

holding statements. Respond to negative comments with apologies and direct questions to the GM

website and provide an 800 phone number.

Evaluation Evaluate what was learned from this crisis and how this tragedy can be avoided. Also, evaluate your crisis

team and how effective the Crisis Communications guide was.