Chapter Contents
5. Crisis Communications Planning (The 3As)
5.1 Anticipate
This first stage should be completed during the Crisis Management phase. During the
‘Anticipate’ phase it is helpful to consult the Decision and Diffusion theories explained earlier in this chapter. During this stage the management team at the organisation will conduct research and a risk analysis to identify the issues that could potentially occur and how best to manage them. One of the most effective ways of training for a potential crisis is the use of scenario-based simulation. In a study in the US, Wang (2017) found that crisis simulation can significantly increase students’ crisis management competencies. During the ‘Anticipate’
stage, the management of the organisation should conduct a risk assessment and assemble a crisis response team. The team should then be trained using scenario-based simulations that analyse various outcomes and decide on how best to manage and respond in each crisis scenario. Precedent should be considered, both in terms of the organisation’s history and best practice in the sector in general. It is preferable for organisations to include their communications executive on the crisis management team at this point. However, this is not always what happens, particularly with smaller organisations who may not have an internal communications representative. At some point however, a communications professional will need to take charge of the communications planning element of the crisis plan and if this expertise is not available within the organisation or ‘in-house’, the skills can be sourced from a trusted outside consultant. In the ‘Anticipate’ stage the communications team will lead the communications response to the various scenarios that could potentially face the company.
The following activity should take place during the ‘Anticipate’ phase:
- Identification of Stakeholders
Stakeholders are classed as any group who are invested in the company. These can be both internal (employees, shareholders, board members, suppliers, contractors) and external (customers/clients – existing and potential, referrers, regulators, governments). For example,
in Boeing’s case its internal stakeholders are its staff, pilots, air stewards, engineers, administrators, organisations that provide contract staff and suppliers of catering services, cleaning and so on. External stakeholders include airlines who buy and use the planes and their passengers worldwide as well as the individual airline regulators within various countries.
As identified in the Excellence Theory and the Four Models of PR stakeholders should be segmented into their various groups and communications plans and relevant communications messages can then be designed and tailored to each of the stakeholder groups.
- Identification of the Spokesperson.
Every organisation requires a spokesperson, a person dedicated to managing the public interactions of the company with the media. This spokesperson should be clearly identified during the ‘Anticipate’ stage of the crisis communications planning. The spokesperson’s suitability should be assessed in terms of their ability to communicate clearly, competently and consistently and to show empathy, which is extremely important in a time of crisis as we have seen in the case of Tony Hayward’s response in the BP Oil spill. As part of the scenario-based crisis simulation exercise mentioned above, the designated spokesperson should receive media training to ensure that s/he is comfortable with conducting media interviews that may arise in response to this crisis. Media training involves taking the scenarios that are likely to affect the organisation and conducting a simulation of the media interviews that may take place in response. Spokespeople are trained on how best to present their organisation and to deliver bad news and most importantly in answering difficult questions.
- Media Audit
An analysis of past media coverage and online commentary that has affected the organisation and its competitors should take place as part of the ‘Anticipate’ stage. This coverage should be examined to ascertain how similar stories have been interpreted in the media and to identify potential pitfalls that could occur. A list of target media should be compiled, and it is important for the organisation to be familiar with these channels and publications as well as with the journalists who write or broadcast in their sector. This will become extremely important during the next stage.
5.2 Act
The ‘Act’ stage may sometimes be referred to as the response stage. The aim would be that with good communications planning, the organisation’s spokesperson would be transitioning into this phase armed with all the information and training required to ensure that the communications protects the reputation of the organisation and does not make the crisis worse. At this stage the crisis has happened, and the public and news journalists are looking
for answers. The organisation’s spokesperson at this point is required to manage and control how this message is communicated through the media. To do this, the following factors should be taken into consideration:
- The Media
As we know, a crisis will most likely hit social media first and this will generate almost immediate inquiries from journalists as a result. The company may be immediately required to give a ‘holding statement’ to media to acknowledge that the crisis is being addressed and that they will be in a position to communicate at a later point (preferably the same day). The level of the response initiated then really depends on the size of the crisis. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, once the virus had been confirmed as being present in communities, the department of health in each was required to provide information to the public. An event of this magnitude generally would merit a press conference. Press conferences offer an opportunity to address a mass media audience at once and allows the media to ask questions, to avoid repetition and to get news out quickly. Another option at this stage, which may be more suitable for smaller events or crises is to issue a press release and facilitate a smaller number of media interviews on a one-to-one basis. This is why it is important to be familiar with the various media and journalists. For example, in response to the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal, Mark Zuckerberg offered an exclusive ‘sit-down’ interview to CNN Business’ Laurie Segall. Rather than giving a big press conference that would be harder to control, the interview was offered exclusively to CNN at the company’s own headquarters in Menlo Park, California. This allowed Zuckerberg to have greater control over the setting and the message. Perhaps Prince Andrew had intended on the same strategy when he chose to give an exclusive interview to Emily Maitlis on the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme, Newsnight. However, an analysis of Emily’s previous interviews and investigative interviewing style should have indicated to Prince Andrew that this perhaps might be a dangerous strategy in terms of the rhetoric he intended on using, which was ultimately lacking in fact and empathy.
Social media is a hugely important channel to monitor especially during a crisis as it provides insight into ‘word of mouth’ or what the public or a section of the public are thinking or saying.
It should be monitored consistently, and a clear strategy should be in place for responding to comments and posts promptly. It is important to note however that social media is not a news channel. It is a repository where organisations, brands, news outlets, journalists and the general public publish their views or communicate their opinions, stories, new products and services. Twitter in particular is a channel where many go to acquire instant news from journalists or to engage directly with brands and organisations. It could be described as the online equivalent of the corner shop. It is important to be aware of the role that these social
media channels and in particular that Twitter plays in the dissemination of misinformation in times of crisis. This issue became particularly prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic when a huge amount of erroneous information and false stories circulated through social channels.
The perception of a crisis will ultimately be led by the informed media coverage in trusted news outlets by expert journalists in their field and a good communications strategy should strive to communicate through these channels first and foremost.
- Journalists
In advance of a press conference or a media interview, it is important to know who is likely to be in the room and from what publication or channel. Knowing who they are and what their style of reporting is will help decide how to approach the press conference or media interview Watching press conferences for example, held by politicians will help to demonstrate this point.
In a political press conference, the politicians will know exactly who is in the room and from what channel or publication they are from. They will pick and choose who to answer questions from and how much time to give to these questions. Best practice in terms of fairness and open communication is to give all journalists equal time and consideration.
- The Topline
Many pre-recorded interviews can last for many minutes or more and yet when the interview is broadcast, only a one-minute snippet or a ‘soundbite’ is aired. This can be due to an editing decision or simply because the spokesperson didn’t address the question asked in his or her answer. It is important that the spokesperson therefore knows that this might happen and makes sure that they know what their ‘Topline’ is and that they communicate this clearly at the outset of their interview. The ‘Topline’ is the one thing that the spokesperson wants to say above all else and if they don’t get time to say much more than one sentence. For example, in the case of Boeing and many other serious crises or disasters as identified by Coombs, the
‘Topline’ would most likely be an apology or an expression of condolence for those affected by the crisis. Apologies aren’t always required as we have studied and should only be used when relevant. The Apologia Theory referred do earlier in this chapter offers a guideline as to other options available in the organisation’s communication’s response.
- 3 Key Messages
In preparation for a media interview, the interviewee should prepare three key messages.
Similar to the idea behind the ‘Topline’, these are the three points that the spokesperson wants to make. The messages should be worked out with the crisis communications team in advance and worked into a clear messaging structure that can be clearly communicated without technical or confusing company jargon. The messages will also serve to anchor the
interviewee and assist them in staying consistent and focussed throughout the media interview.
- Questions and Answers
In advance of a media interview and particularly a crisis interview, the spokesperson should prepare and rehearse answers to potential questions. Particular attention should be given to the questions that the interviewee would like to avoid. For example, in the event of an air disaster in which the plane’s engineering was found to have been at fault, an interviewer is likely to ask, ‘how long did you know about the fault?’ or ‘why didn’t you take any action?’. It should be taken as guaranteed that if there is a question that you would like to avoid, the journalist will pose it, so it is important to have answers prepared. Key messages can also serve as crutches to fall back on at this point, but they need to be used and worked into the communications carefully to avoid irritating the interviewer.
Figure X to follow provides a Checklist for The Act stage of the Communications Planning process.