Crisis Management

In a PR crisis, consistent messaging is important. In communicating about a potential health crisis, consistent, factual messaging becomes paramount. The country’s coronavirus situation is rapidly rising beyond politics. It is imperative for all communicators, including the president, to speak from the same script.

The Houston Astros, as many know, are a baseball team. Without wanting to, the franchise and Major League Baseball have supplied a classic case study for PR education in the field of crisis communications. Most likely the outcome of the team’s disastrous crisis response will continue to be written during the coming baseball season and beyond.

Since the coronavirus landed on U.S. shores, the media has been working overtime—not only describing the symptoms and areas affected to those seeking information, but also in regards to how the outbreak is impacting business across the board. Whether it be the dramatic stock market drop, large-scale event postponements or travel cancellations, organizations need to take stock of what’s most important to communicate to a concerned public.

Here’s a brief guide to what communicators should be doing and thinking about as the virus begins to make its way across the country.

Measurement guru Katie Paine compares China’s cover-up of the coronavirus and the Houston Astros’ long delay before admitting guilt in the sign-stealing scandal. Neither entity helped its reputation when it chose to ignore a crisis. Prompt response and owning your mistakes still makes the most sense.

Flat organizations can be great. They are cost efficient, and enable fast communication and quick decision-making. On the other hand, a flat organization can become an issue during a crisis, argues Kevin Elliott, SVP, Hill + Knowlton Strategies. His advice is to become hierarchical when a crisis occurs.

In a wide-ranging address during day 2 of PRNEWS’ Crisis and Measurement Summit in Miami, political strategist Ana Navarro had positive and negative things to say about social media. In the end, though, she believes PR pros have a difficult but important mission to promote truth in messaging. “Don’t give up on the facts,” she said.

Crisis communications principles are well known, and most companies and organizations have robust crisis plans. Still, we see daily examples of iconic brands floundering with crisis. Why? Former Burson-Marsteller chairman and new novelist Jim Lindheim addressed this issue during his keynote at PRNEWS’ Crisis and Measurement Summit in Miami. In addition, attendees received a bevy of crisis takeaways during the Feb. 25, 2020, sessions.

We often hear about the adversarial relationship of PR and legal departments. Replacing that traditional viewpoint is one that advocates for a collaboration between communicators and lawyers, particularly as PR becomes a strategic advisor in the C-suite and boardroom. Exploring that collaboration in the regulatory space finds the lines are blurring between PR and legal.

It can be a dirty business defending criminals. Whatever you might think of those who represent Harvey Weinstein in court, you have to admit his lead attorney, Donna Rotunno, is, for the most part, using earned media tactics well. Her PR goal seems to be building name recognition in anticipation of future #MeToo clients.