Scott Peterson, director of media relations for Nasdaq, rendered the audience speechless at a PR industry event in Chicago last week as he spoke about his experience handling
crisis communications in the wake of Sept. 11. The terrorist attacks left part of his team huddled together on the Brooklyn Bridge - and ultimately closed the Nasdaq markets for
four days.
During those days, Peterson and other crisis team members worked from a makeshift space in Connecticut to meet the 24-hour news cycle. "Never underestimate the value of passion
and enthusiasm," to get through trying times, Peterson said.
Prioritizing the media requests about when the markets would re-open helped: "We learned and became skilled at the art of triage." The New York financial writers topped the
priority listing.
Since the tragedy, the Nasdaq communications team has become more automated than ever before. The Nasdaq online pressroom today garners 2 million visitors per day, and Peterson
recently began using an application service provider (Vocus) for online press listings and data management because it permits updates and media downloads anytime and anywhere.
This mobile communications ability appeals to Peterson in the wake of events that made it impossible for him and other New Yorkers to work in their usual office space.
Peterson's lesson learned: Redundancy is as critical in communications as it is to the Nasdaq servers. Having a back-up database and backing-up information on servers to CD-ROM
or other storage is key.
Peterson's other tips for crisis comms:
- Know who the spokespeople will be going into any crisis
- Continually review and upgrade your crisis communications plan
- Know your contingency plans - phone systems, computers, email availability, in case of catastrophic disasters
- Always, always keep your media contact lists with you
For more information, email Peterson at [email protected].
-Submitted by Mike Smith, president of Upstart Vision in Reston, Va. For more information on Upstart Vision, contact Smith at 703/742-6482 or [email protected].