Company: New York City
Agency: NYC & Co.
Timeframe: 2001, ongoing
Crises come in many flavors. Some relate to the security of client data or the image of a company that fails to deliver on a promise, while others attack the health and well-being of both
employees and clients, and even the very existence of a company or organization.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, violated New York City on many levels, tallied in the loss of lives, the destruction of property and the failure of companies left without physical
offices, resources, employees or stock. In the eye of the storm, quite literally, was NYC & Co., New York City's official tourism marketing organization.
It might seem on the face of things that tourism and the city's image as a travel destination were the least of New York's worries on that day, but the visitors drawn to the Big Apple play a vital
role in the city's financial health, whether they come for business or leisure. NYC & Co. was instrumental to the city's survival and recovery from the get-go. And the secret of its success was a
plan that was both strong and flexible, operating to react to the immediate physical crisis, as well as the ensuing image crisis. A successful plan has many elements.
Know how you will communicate with your team. The first order of business, according to NYC & Co. president Cristyne Nicholas, "was to account for employees. A chain of command was in place to
reach everybody, and we knew where they were commuting from and which trains would be affected. Within two hours, we knew where everyone was."
The only missing link in the chain was Nicholas herself. She had been in the vicinity of the World Trade Center for a meeting. Following the plan, she called the office - located some 50 blocks
north of the attacks - after the first plane hit, to tell co-workers she was on her way back. When the second plane struck the World Trade Center, she was cut off from all communication. But, she had
touched base, and they knew her plan.
Know how you will communicate with your clients. "We also had all the knowledge of what meetings and events were happening in New York" that day and for weeks to come, says Nicholas, "so we could
call meeting planners, look at the next month, and reschedule. After the lockdown [when transportation into and out of New York was blocked], we needed to find out whether business could take place,
and if not, how to reschedule. Businesses were very grateful to hear from us." This helped companies that needed information, as well as encouraged them not to turn their backs on the city in its own
time of need.
Help those who need it. NYC & Co. rolled up its sleeves and got involved with the search and rescue efforts, organizing restaurants and hotels to house and feed rescue workers and arranging
for the cruise ship terminals on the city's west side to act as temporary office space for the city's government. Ironically, the city government had a back-up plan for office space, but it was still
within the area affected by the attacks. The tourism sector was able to fill the breach.
The Show Must Go On
Mayor Rudy Giuliani "asked how fast we could get the back-up plan running, so terrorists would not have the 'secondary victory' of shutting down our culture," says Nicholas. "We had an emergency
meeting with the unions involved in Broadway to try to keep the shows going. We explained it was for the better good of NYC to keep going, and they agreed. Audiences were only 60 percent full, but by
practicing their trade, it gave them strength to continue." The efforts ensured the city's image as a survivor continued to reach the world.
Keep an eye on perception problems. The New York State government offered to let New York City government teams use the Javits Center as a temporary base, but NYC & Co. "howled" at that
suggestion, says Nicholas. "Javits had to remain available if we wanted to get convention business visitors back to New York City." To use the convention facility as a staging area in a crisis would
also impact its image, possibly forever. "You want that point of entry to remain very positive, you don't want images of a crisis situation taking place there. New Orleans used theirs for that
purpose, but they had a different situation."
Position your client's strength with the media. "At a week out, we were questioning how to market a city that wasn't seen as ready... people outside had a view of the city as being closed, because
the World Trade Center site is so large. People didn't know how big a space was affected." To accomplish this, NYC & Co. ran ads in the travel trade media, offering to thank the world "in person"
for supporting the city - an invitation for everyone to come see the city for themselves.
6. Turn on a dime. Every crisis is an individual, and there's no one-size-fits-all plan. The city ran its first-ever television ad campaign, which had been put in motion before the attacks but was
retooled after the fact to make the spots more appropriate. Ogilvy public relations had been tapped to work on the television ad campaign, but the spots were quickly deemed inappropriate, as they
featured the World Trade Center itself and positioned the city as a theme park of sorts.
An immediate revamp resulted in the "Paint the City Red, White and Blue" campaign, using the funding and plans from the earlier strategy but completely changing the creative. A budget of $5
million rapidly grew to $30 million, without costing NYC & Co. an additional dime. Local stations were happy to make in-kind contributions of air time, as a result of cancellations they received
because of the attacks.
Be prepared. Even when the plan is perfectly relevant, many PR pros note that when a crisis occurs, the first victim is the plan. Nicholas advises: "Know where the plan is and how to access it. It
can't just be electronic. You have to print it out and store it, maybe keep one at the office with copies at home. Update phone logs, print them out and tuck them away."
In addition, every member of NYC & Co.'s team of 1,900 people "has a 'to-go bag,' with sneakers, a tee-shirt, bottle of water, and flashlight, which they keep under their desks," says
Nicholas. "Everyone is responsible to keep that for themselves. We have supplies in the office with enough water and power bars to last a full day," she adds, noting that, "if you keep a flashlight,
remember to change the batteries."
Designate a spokesperson for outreach efforts. Nicholas says that this became particularly important during a crisis that did not directly affect New York City: the SARS outbreak in Asia. When the
Asian market stopped traveling, NYC & Co. reached out to the world to reinforce the message that it was safe to travel to New York. "We had the department of health brief NYC & Co. members at
a breakfast about SARS and why it wasn't going to come to the U.S.," she says. "It also helped them communicate with clients who might be overseas. The health commissioner was very out front,
communicating to our members and the New York public, going on as many interviews as possible. He was our spokesperson - you need a designated spokesperson, from outside your company." This, she
says, provided third-party credibility.
Measure the results, and keep going. After September 11, NYC & Co. was able to measure the success of its efforts against very well-defined benchmarks: the number of visitors. "But now we
cannot ever view the world the way we did prior to 9-11," says Nicholas. "We are more diligent about our response." And although the organization had a crisis communications plan in place, "the whole
staff might not have known it, but now they do."
This also applies to outreach efforts. After September 11, NYC & Co. earned so much respect for its efforts to reach out with information, that after the blackout two years later, the city
turned to NYC & Co. again for help. "That won't change," says Nicholas. "NYC & Co. will be able to touch every sector of the community."
Contact:
NYC & Co., 212.484.1200, [email protected]
Controlling The Media Message
When responding to any crisis, a large part of the battle can be creating the best possible image and getting the word out. Microsoft knew the "Zotob" worm, which hit Windows users in 2005, did
not pose a major security threat to most computers, but the media had other ideas. The problem was exaggerated in many news reports, and Microsoft and Waggener Edstrom quickly put their heads
together to sort out a solution to stave off panic.
"While you can prepare for a crisis, you never know exactly how a crisis issue will play out," says Grant Williams, part of the Waggener Edstrom team that planned Microsoft's response. "The
Microsoft Security Response Center and the Waggener Edstrom PR team had drilled on joint crisis responses and processes to ensure preparedness in advance of security threats. During a 2004 drill, the
PR team recognized that an attack on a media organization would require a different kind of crisis response." Microsoft was well prepared to deal with genuine viral threats, having faced many hacker
attacks in the past. The company had improved its crisis management, reviewed past incidents and established best practices. A new dedicated Situation Room allowed security engineering and PR staff
to work side by side to create counter measures.
The Zotob worm took advantage of a vulnerability in Windows that had been addressed by a software update that was not yet in use by all Windows users. Such media outlets as CNN, ABC and The New
York Times reported that Zotob could result in an "Internet meltdown," largely because they were among the businesses that had not installed the update that rendered more current PC users immune.
To maximize the efficiency of its outreach during crises, the team developed a plan to get the word out to major audiences, including consumer media, industry trade publications, IT and security
pros, business computer users, and third-party industry analysts that have an impact on Microsoft valuation. They hoped to minimize panic and negative impressions; deliver an assurance that the
company was reacting responsibly and transparently; and tone down the alarmist tone taken by early media reports.
Microsoft's Security Response Center (MSRC) went public with alerts to customers who owned vulnerable systems. Microsoft negotiated a live interview with CNN, conveyed detailed customer guidance,
downplayed hype and countered inaccuracies. Briefings with West Coast analysts provided much-needed third-party press references.
Perhaps the best tactic, however, was to invite press crews right into the Situation Room for one night to see firsthand the inner workings of a security crisis. The result was a shift in
reporting from alarmist to factual.
To ensure against future outbreaks of alarmist reporting, Microsoft also set in motion various ongoing measures. These included posting frequent updates on Microsoft.com, conducting e-mail
outreach to more than 80 security influentials during the crisis, creating templates for responding to media inquiries, training Microsoft PR subsidiaries worldwide to work with local media, and
seeding in-depth stories on how Microsoft handled the Zotob outbreak.
Measuring Results
Measurement is a difficult prospect in a crisis situation such as this, because a specific product is not being promoted. Says Williams, "Microsoft and Waggener Edstrom measured the success of
this campaign by seeing how closely PR results mapped back to original objectives."
The first objective was to communicate prescriptive guidance to protect Microsoft customers while persuading audiences that the number of vulnerable computers was minimal. Says Williams, "More
than 140 unique stories were posted in top-tier print and online business and trade publications reaching key IT audiences. The tone of the coverage was 94 percent neutral to positive. Security
influentials wrote Zotob blogs saying the story was over-hyped."
The second objective was to "demonstrate responsibility, transparency and leadership during the crisis." Supportive quotes and reports, such as those contained in a Forrester report, reinforced
the message that "limited worm impact shows Microsoft's security strategy is working," helping maintain industry confidence in Microsoft, says Williams.
Contact:
Grant Williams, 425.638.7099, [email protected]