After last week's State of the Union Address, there's little
doubt in most Americans' minds that a war in Iraq is more a
probability than a possibility. In addition to the ongoing War on
Terror and the constant menace of further terrorist activity on the
home front, the latest threat has many companies preparing for the
worst.
American Express, for example, is sending out a letter along
with media contracts which advises media that the company may
postpone or even cancel advertising in the event of a war. Molly
Faust, VP of PR with American Express, acknowledges the use of the
letters but declines to discuss contingency planning in other areas
of the company or the PR department.
The AmEx "war clause" is fairly unique according to most
experts. But contingency planning for national crises is not, and
any PR pro not making preparations to deal with the impact of a new
war should be.
Looking Through the Lens of War
At the most basic level, communications executives should be
scrutinizing their PR campaigns and their key messages, examining
everything through the lens of a nation at war.
"We were just looking at a client's messaging the other day,"
says Tom Joyce, partner and chair of the corporate practice at
Carmichael Lynch Spong. "One key message was that something was
'mission-critical.' It's the typical jargon, but it's not the
message you want out there during war time."
Worse yet, says Paul Rand, head of Ketchum's global technology
practice, are organizations which attempt to leverage a war to
their advantage. "Every time there's a national crisis, there's
some moron who says, 'You want a break from war news? Have a
refreshing [soft drink].' That does far more damage than any
positive value it could add."
In fact, there already are rumblings about news organizations
taking advantage of a potential war to tout their thorough coverage
of Iraq, says Don Marshall, who, as director of communications for
WashingtonPost.Newsweek.com, is concerned that his company not
position itself that way.
Business Impacts
Marshall has also been concerned about the impact of war on the
American economy - and by turns, on American corporations. "It's
important for people to ask themselves right now, how could war
affect our business? What about dramatically rising oil prices or
the inability for traveling overseas? You have to look at the
scenarios and come up with contingency plans."
Marshall is a member of the senior team at
WashingtonPost.Newsweek.com that has been examining such issues,
and he advises all communicators to work closely with senior
executives to develop contingency plans for just such events. It's
key to work with the leaders of other departments right now to
ensure that all your bases are covered: What messages will
advertising and marketing be putting out and how quickly could they
pull ads in the event that war struck?
"Fortunately, or unfortunately, we have models to look at," says
Jon Austin, SVP in Fleishman-Hillard's Minneapolis office. "Look at
Desert Storm and how oil prices went up. Anticipate the business
impact: Is it impossible to get the supplies you need for your
manufacturing process?" He advises PR professionals to consider the
results of various scenarios and then create a communications plan
for those situations well in advance.
"You would not be a very good corporate communications
professional if you were not looking with the CEO and the CFO [at
financial ramifications] and realizing you may have tough messages
to deliver," Joyce says.
Also consider what effect a war would have specifically on your
PR budget. Look at the plans you have on the table for 2003 and
build in flexibility.
Eliminating barriers among the promotional departments of your
organization could also be a key in the event of a war. It not only
means you'll know what messages other departments are preparing to
send out, but it also could be helpful in spreading budgets evenly.
Being able to overcome PR challenges and take advantage of
communications opportunities could hinge on not having strictly
separate marketing, PR and advertising budgets, Rand says.
And take stock of your PR agencies, says Jerry Doyle, VP of
CommCore Consulting. If your budget is $2 million spread across
five agencies, how will you shift that budget if it is slashed to
$500,000? Know your agencies' core competencies well enough that
you know how they could help you in the event of a crisis or a
downsized PR agenda.
A Media Void
Regardless of whether your budget shrinks, you may be forced to
downsize some aspects of your PR efforts due to what Ketchum's Rand
calls the "media void." "One thing we all experienced after Sept.
11 was the phenomenal drop-off in interest from the media. We all
got caught flat-footed." Rand counsels his clients to build a
variety of promotional activities into any campaign they're
planning right now - not just media outreach.
Eliminating some of your media outreach may mean resetting
executive expectations for the PR department (see PR NEWS, Dec. 9,
2002). Explain to executives who may have wanted to be in The New
York Times or The Wall Street Journal that it may not be possible
in a war time environment and that the communications department
will be implementing other promotions to make up for the lack of
ink.
Looking Inward
As always, employees are your most important audience in the
event of a war. Be attuned to what they're feeling, and what is
making them nervous or anxious, says Richard Laermer, CEO of RLM
PR, who advises PR pros to put themselves in the mindset of
"selling comfort."
And Larry Smith, president of the Institute for Crisis
Management, reminds PR pros to look to the many members of the
American workforce who, as part of the National Guard or military
reserves, already are being called into action. "These are
commercial pilots who fly for UPS or American Airlines," Smith
says. "When they activate, they have a business impact." Clearly
articulating your policy on reservists and staying in close
communication with employees and their families is key, Smith says.
"That's the kind of PR that pays off both in the short and the long
haul. If a family member feels like, 'Boy, my husband's or
girlfriend's employer cares enough to keep in touch,' and the
[employee] overseas feels better about getting back to work, that's
the kind of PR you can't buy."
A Checklist for War
- Filter all planned campaigns and messages to ensure nothing is
offensive or dangerous in the event of a war - Carefully examine how the results of a war could impact your
business and work with senior management to plan contingencies for
these scenarios - Plan communications to all stakeholders about how war would
impact your organization financially and operationally - Consider how a war would impact your specific PR budget, and
define the ways you can make PR work with less - Incorporate more than media outreach into your PR plans so that
a "media void" in the wake of a declaration of war doesn't catch
you off guard - Keep open lines with employees, especially those who are
personally impacted by the war - i.e. those with family in the
military or who themselves may be called into action as members of
the Reserves or National Guard
Agency Agenda
You may not need to build war contingency clauses into your
contracts with your PR agency (though some companies may want to if
they feel there's a distinct possibility of dramatic changes to
their PR plans or budget). However, regardless of whether you
include your contingency plans in your contractual agreement, you
are well-advised to discuss the possibility of war with your agency
and have alternative plans with your account team, as well.
- Discuss what services they can provide you in the event of a
war - Plan how you could scale back/postpone promotions
- Be sure they can provide an "a la carte" menu of services to
you in the event that you must downsize media outreach or some
other part of your PR plans
(Contacts: Joyce, [email protected]; Rand, [email protected]; Marshall,
[email protected];
Austin, [email protected]; Doyle,
[email protected];
Laermer, [email protected];
Smith, [email protected])