Crisis Communication 3333 Study Guide for Midterm Exam February 25th 2014 Concepts Terms Crisis major occurrence with a possible negative outcome that affects the organization company products services individual and or stakeholders Must interrupt normal flow of operations to be considered a crisis Crisis Communication dialog between organization and its publics prior to during and after the negative occurrence This dialog details strategies and tactics designed to minimize damage to the image of the organization Successful comm can alleviate or eliminate the crisis Crisis Management the process of strategic planning for a crisis and removes some of the risk and uncertainty from the negative occurrence thereby allowing the organization to be in better control of their destiny Public Relations Public relations is a coordinated attempt to create a favorable company individual and or product image in the mind of the public by supporting certain activities or programs publishing commercially significant news in a widely circulated medium or obtaining favorable publicity on radio television In a crisis PR is used to influence public opinion Reinforce positive attitudes change negative attitudes and provide information in a way that leads people to form opinions that are consistent with the views of the organization Media relations Building a positive relationship with the news media so they know you are reliable professional accurate and ethical Tactics for the news media would include not only news releases but also pitch letters backgrounders media advisories media tours news conferences and others Community relations Building a positive relationship with community leaders organizations families individuals Tactics may include advisory boards open houses speakers bureaus public service announcements CSR corporate social responsibility activities exhibits scholarships Employee internal relations Building a bond with employees even if there are only one or two making employees feel a part of the organization These would be volunteers in nonprofit organizations Tactics would be the use of an intranet newsletters and other house organs closed circuit television e mail and other social media contests awards gifts Consumer relations Building a mutual bond between the company and its customers A returns policy tours sales advantages brochures posters flyers open houses educational material and a complaint system are possibilities Publics Stakeholders people who have a stake or interest in an organization Ex employees customers investors media Strategic publics Stakeholders who are crucial to an organization The organization cannot function without them Examples are boards of directors investors and unions Five Stages of a Crisis o Detection prodromes Example Tylenol leading to other medicines using tamper proof bottles o Prevention preparation ongoing public relations programs and regular two way communications that can build relationships with key publics and thereby prevent crises and lessen the blows of crises o Containment refers to the effort to limit the duration of the crisis or to keep it from spreading to other areas affecting the organization Example Pepsi syringe hoax o Recovery this involves efforts to return the company to business as usual restoring confidence among stakeholders o Learning this is a process of examining the crisis and determining what was lost what was gained and how the organization performed in the crisis evaluative procedure Four Basic Stages of Crisis Communication o Crisis Preparedness do you have a communication plan o Initial Response how did the org react to the crisis at the early stages o Maintaining On going Corrective Action what did the company do to rectify the situation o Evaluation Follow up what did the company learn from the crisis and how did they evaluate their performance Prodromes warning signs of a crisis How should a company handle the media when attempting to prevent a crisis Don t ignore them Have talking points Good relationship Golden Hour 1st hour following notification that a crisis has occurred Four Stages of News Media Coverage in a Crisis Stage 1 breaking news Ends when cause explanation is presented Stage 2 concrete details become available Ex Columbine shooter s descriptions Stage 3 analysis of the crisis and its aftermath Ex How gunmen planned attacks Stage 4 Evaluation and critique of the crisis Ex were there warning signs anniversary report Three Types of Response to a Media Request We know and here s all the information We don t know everything at this time Here s what we know We ll find out more and let you know We have no idea but we ll find out and tell you Specific proposition for belief passed along from person to person usually by word of mouth without secure standards of evidence being presence Arise from the uncertainty from the absence of context and concrete Rumors information Snowballing Rumors generally spread with quite a bit of exaggeration Occurs when the rumor s importance grows with each telling Ways rumors spread Employees Media outlets Ambiguity Ambiguity provokes anxiety and anxiety prompts rumors 2 ways to prevent diminish rumors Diminish the importance assigned to the rumor Eliminate the ambiguity around the factual basis of the rumor if true The 45 minutes 6 hours 3 days 2 weeks rule 45 First 45 min an org have the maximum of influence on the outcome of a story in the first few moments after the rumor arises You can frame the story of the crisis when your stakeholders and news media calls 6 In the 6 hour rule once a story is broadcast you can expect to have at least six negative hours of coverage 3 In 3 days you cannot control the story expect at least 2 weeks of negative coverage 2 In 2 weeks the news cycle includes weekly and bimonthly magazines industry trade publications and Sunday morning talk shows Intranet Audience employees Internal Communication System within a company Apologia Theory Redefnition denies an organization attempts to explain that it did not intend to commit the misdeed and provides evidence of steps its taken to prevent misdeed from reoccurring Dissociation explains Informing publics that the organization might seem to have committed the so called misdeed but actually has not Conciliation apologizes this is the point where the organization actually gives an apology we are guilty we are sorry Example husband 911 call to report missing wife but they said his wife didn t meet