Archive for crisis communications
Crisis Communications Tip #3: Define & Defend Your Boundaries
Posted by: | CommentsA local hospital 
is at the beginning of what promises to be a lengthy and costly resolution of a situation involving a prominent physician, many, many of his patients and now, legions of attorneys.
In fairness to the hospital, it is a complicated situation not easily explained and therefore not easily understood by most of us. Additionally, there are many points of view that will be played out in the media for the foreseeable future.
However, based on media coverage thus far, the hospital does not appear to be assertively defining the situation to one physician in one department utilizing one procedure.
If we were asked our opinion on what their crisis communications strategy should be, we would implore them to quickly and decisively place the situation in context of the hospital’s overall reputation. It should then implement an ongoing, focused communications program that defines and defends the institution’s expertise and reputation beyond the boundaries of the current situation, albeit a serious and far-reaching one.
Crisis Communications Tip #15: It’s Rarely Straightforward
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The incredible coverage in the traditional media, posts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other online venues of the recent Jet Blue flight attendant’s bizarre reaction to a less than civil passenger brings home the point that a crisis is rarely, if ever, straightforward in the facts surrounding what happened.
IMO, what’s getting lost in the accolades for the flight attendant’s way that he quit his job are the bigger, more serious issues of the safety risk he put the passengers in when he deployed the evacuation chute and the complicated state of today’s customer service.
It will be interesting to watch how Jet Blue moves forward and how it incorporates the incident into its customer service training. It should make for an important case study.
BP’s Crisis Communications Continues to Bewilder
Posted by: | CommentsBP continues to distinguish itself in a growing number of categories in the ongoing sad saga of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill mess, including the bewildering way it communicates with the world.
We wish we could enroll them in our crisis communications summit. But it may be way too late.
Sunday’s photo of Tony Hayward watching his yacht race was one that will rank high on the “If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I would have never believed it” list! How could anyone at BP have thought that would be an OK way to spend a Sunday afternoon in public and that the media would give his attendance a pass?
While the opportunity has been missed for BP to get out in front of the crisis as well as also ignoring a long list of other effective crisis communications fundamentals, there is still time (thanks in part to BP’s difficulties in finding a workable solution to capping the leak) for BP to communicate — through their actions and words on and off the job — genuine and sincere empathy to a world that is in dire need of it.
Will they do it?
Facebook Friday: Not All Wall Posts are Happy Posts
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Here’s one more reason your company’s social media program should be guided by an experienced communications professional. For a while, Nestle’s Facebook page was a place where fans could exchange posts about Kit-Kat bars and other products and receive updates from the company. Nice, huh?
But one day in March, the page was targeted by Greenpeace activists to raise the issue of Nestle’s use of palm oil and the resulting deforestation and endangered species loss in South America. Comments poured in from Facebook users – directly onto Nestle’s own Facebook page – harshly criticizing the company for its practices. Nestle’s initial responses were not well-received, causing additional need for damage control in a situation now included on the list of social media crisis PR case studies.
Coverage here by CNET News provides a good overview, but to see for yourself search for “Nestle” on Facebook and scroll down to the entries in March, 2010. To their credit, Nestle has not deleted the posts, and the company has used the page to post responses and updates about their palm oil practices.
The incident is a cautionary lesson for companies who want to delegate Facebook and all this new-fangled social media stuff to the intern or 20-something employee. Social media is two-way, and how a company responds to its fans – as well as its critics – is critical to its reputation and not something you want to leave in the hands of anyone unfamiliar with the basics of PR and crisis communications.
Credit: Nestle logo from Nestle Facebook page
Susan Talks Crisis Communications with WMAR-TV
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That’s Sawmill Partner Susan Anthony, left, speaking with WMAR-TV Reporter Roosevelt Leftwich yesterday for a story on their evening newscast about Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon. For our national and international readers, the Baltimore mayor was found guilty this week of stealing gift cards that were meant to be distributed to needy children. A crisis PR situation if there ever was one!
The defense team kept Dixon off the witness stand during the trial, and since the jury’s verdict was announced on Wednesday we haven’t heard much from her, other than a few comments outside the courtroom and a brief “press conference” yesterday afternoon when she read a simple statement and took no questions from the media - nothing more than a move designed to deliver a soundbite for the evening news and the next news cycle.
Channel 2 contacted Sawmill Marketing Public Relations for insights into Dixon’s PR strategy and crisis communications efforts to date. Susan told Roosevelt that the Mayor needs to deliver the whole package (words, tone of voice, facial expressions, posture, et al) consistently and repeatedly before the citizens of Baltimore can begin to re-establish trust in her. She emphasized that the longer the Mayor goes without doing so, the deeper the hole she has likely dug for herself.
As if on cue, the Mayor was holding her “press conference” as Susan drove back to the office from Channel 2. She and Sawmill partner Jeff Davis commented that they could hear the nervousness in her voice as she read from the prepared statement that they agreed was an empty one.
Maryland PR Firm Marks 15th Year Milestone
Posted by: | CommentsBALTIMORE, Md. (October 19, 2009) – Sawmill Marketing Public Relations, a public relations firm headquartered in Baltimore, Md., this month marks its 15th year in business, according to Susan J. Anthony, founder and partner of the Baltimore PR agency that provides social media, traditional media relations, media training and crisis communications planning and execution to business-to-business, business-to-consumer and professional services clients.
“Since our beginning in 1995, so much has changed about how business is conducted – the impact of how we communicate with one another being at the top of the list – as well as how public relations has changed, with the explosion of social media being the most far-reaching change,” Anthony said. “We remain as excited and passionate about the work we do and its positive impact on the business and marketing objectives of our clients as we did 15 years ago.”
In its first 15 years in business Sawmill Marketing Public Relations has provided its services to a variety of high profile clients including the family of Chandra Levy, the landmark Intelligent Design legal case of Kitzmiller, et al versus Dover Area School District that was covered by national and international media, and public relations for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Today, the firm’s client roster includes companies with national and regional marketplaces in business and service sectors including global asset management, commercial and multi-family real estate development and property management, higher education, health care, architecture/construction management, design-build mechanical contracting and restaurant/food service.
Among the first firms nationwide to establish a social media practice, Anthony and partner Jeffrey A. Davis APR co-author the agency’s four-year-old blog, the PR Buzzsaw, and have developed an expertise in integrating corporate blogging, Facebook and Twitter strategies with traditional communications. In January the PR and social media agency launched the “Sawmill Guide to Baltimore Media on Twitter” listing that has been recognized nationally as the premiere resource of its kind.
About Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
Sawmill Marketing Public Relations is a Baltimore PR and social media marketing agency established in 1995 specializing in the development and execution of marketing public relations programs as business development strategies for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and professional services clients. The Maryland public relations company specializes in social media, traditional media relations, media training, and crisis communications. For additional information, visit www.sawmillmarketing.com.
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PR Buzzsaw Nominated for The Sun’s ‘Mobbie Awards’ Recognizing Best Blogs in Maryland
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Behind Buzz’s veneer of “smart ass, man-about-town, be seen, be heard and often” lies a modest man who was left speechless upon learning his very own PR Buzzsaw blog was nominated by The Baltimore Sun in its Mobbie Awards program – that’s short for Maryland’s Outstanding Blogs!
Fans of the buzzed one have until this Friday, Oct. 9th to vote by visiting the Mobbie Awards section of The Sun’s Web site, entering their account information (or registering for a free Sun account) and clicking. No paper ballots in this election!
Buzz is up against an eclectic group of blogs, some with a dedicated, unrelenting get-out-the-vote machine in place. Buzz prefers a more personable approach, so he humbly asks for your votes. If you really care about Buzz as you profess that you do, please show your love for him with your vote. And don’t let him fall behind the likes of fellow blog/candidates “Your A Idiot” (yep, sic and all, that’s the name) or the Sandra Shaw – Weather in Satin blog that keeps readers entertained with posts on WBAL-TV’s bubbly weather forecastress.
Media Training Tip #11 – Integrate Crisis Communications Scenarios with Mock Interviews
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Yesterday we completed a two-day media training session for an “institution of higher learning” in Maryland, and judging from the reactions of the participants, the time was well worth it, even for those who likely will not go before a camera. It opened their eyes to what goes on behind the scenes to help the media assemble a story – and get an organization’s messages delivered accurately and concisely. If you are considering a media training for your college or university, here are some thoughts to consider:
- We had great success integrating the college’s crisis communications plan with the media training. During mock interviews, participants rehearsed answers to potential questions about the H1N1 virus/swine flu, a fire in a campus building, an accusation against an accounting department employee and the crash of a van carrying a sports team. We’re all hoping nothing ever happens, but this college is prepared!
- We worked closely with the PR Department to create a customized program that met their unique needs. They shared with us that other media training firms they interviewed tried to sell them pre-packaged workshops that focused more on what to wear and other “style” pointers vs. a content-focused approach, which of course is more useful.
- The college president wisely asked that a range of personnel be exposed to the session. Not only were deans and others in leadership roles present, but so were staff members from a cross-section of departments, from security to the athletic department to purchasing.
- Each participant was offered the chance to go before the cameras twice. It was time-consuming, but one time is simply not enough. They viewed a tape of their initial appearance, received our constructive on-the-spot criticism and then tried again. Why not allow newbie mistakes to be made in the privacy of your conference room?
- Videotaping participants is more important than ever since many newspaper reporters are carrying video cameras with them these days.
- You should plan for a “refresher” session in about six months. This college has already planned a follow up, which will keep potential spokespeople comfortable and ready.
Ready for your session? Give us a call.
Tech Execs: It's Time to 'Overly Communicate'
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At a “Recession – Now What?” panel discussion hosted by the Greater Baltimore Tech Council this morning, executives led off with the following advice: now is not the time to clam up, shrink away and keep things to yourself. This is the time to “overly communicate,” they said. Start with your management team, but pay close attention to your employees and customers.
This tells me that if you are responsible for corporate PR – and especially internal communications – this could be one of the busiest and most important times of your career.
The CEO and management team might know what’s up with the company, they said. But that information - and a lot of it could be good – doesn’t necessarily trickle down to employees. “There can be a loudness of no communication,” cautioned Mollie Spilman, president and CEO of BDMetrics. The leader sets the tone and everyone’s watching, she said, so anything from body language to words and actions can impact the organization.
As a leader, you need to instill “structured as well as non-structured” communications internally and ensure your company is seen as “indispensable” by your customers, added Nigel Knowles, president of LCG Technologies.
And while it’s important for employees to be aware of what’s going on – and how they can contribute – it’s also critical to communicate externally, beginning with existing customers. You need to talk to your customers even more frequently to “take their temperature” and be on the lookout for warning signs, said Rick Faint, managing director of Evergreen Capital.
After that, take a look at your external communications which reaches all of these important audiences – and more. What does a company’s silence tell us?
