Spin City
How do you weather a PR crisis—and come out on top?
When you're faced with a public relations crisis, it's
important to be on top of your game. We posed three PR nightmares
to public relations experts and asked what they'd do.
1.You discover
your company's PR director has been publishing falsely
optimistic information about the company's profits.
Says Jonathan Bernstein, of Bernstein Crisis
Management LLC in Monrovia, California: "Assuming the PR
director has done this willfully and hence is legally liable,
announce ASAP that:
- Inaccurate information has been released.
- The company deeply regrets what has happened and is determined
to make amends.
- The person responsible has been fired.
- The company is cooperating with any investigation.
- An accurate restatement of the previously false information
will be released imminently."
Content Continues Below
Going forward, Bernstein warns, you'll have to convince the
investment community that systems are in place to prevent this from
recurring.
2.Your
restaurant's chef is caught on hidden camera coughing into a
customer's food; the film ends up on the local news.
Says Bill Furlow of Furlow
Corporate Communications in Tustin, California: "If the
employee was shown intentionally doing [this], I would fire him or
her immediately. The restaurant owners should not refuse to go on
camera as part of the story; rather, they should acknowledge being
appalled at the behavior and pledge to do everything in their power
to prevent something similar from happening in the future. [Also]
announce they are bringing in a food-safety expert to provide
mandatory training for the restaurant staff."
3.Your retail
store's Hispanic employees sue you for discrimination, then
picket outside your store during business hours. (We're
assuming you are not guilty of the allegations.)
Says Ron Dresner of Your PR Department LLC in Farmington,
Connecticut: "Let your lawyer evaluate the situation. Talk to
police about picketing rights-your rights and [the protesters']
rights. Create a one-sheet for employees and customers, explaining
that this claim has no validity. Refer all inquiries [to one
person]. For the press, create a little more aggressive press
release than the one-sheet."