Crisis Communication Midterm

Types of Crises

1. Smoldering Crisis

2. Sudden Crisis

3. Perpetual Crisis

4. Bizarre Crisis

Smoldering Crisis

bubbles under the surface before exploding into public view- most common; usually because of management denial

Sudden Crisis

termed “an act of God”

Perceptual Crisis

perceived by the public, but might not actually be a crisis

Bizarre Crisis

hard to imagine it would exist

Key Audiences (Stakeholders)

Advocates, Ambivalents, Adversaries

Advocates

always support you; friendly

Ambivalents

on the fence; could go either way

Adversaries

oppose you no matter what

Boeing CEO

Dave Calohm; took responsibility when door flew off plane

Dr. David Dao

removed from united airlines- compounded crisis

United Airlines CEO

Oscar Munoz; finger pointed- didn’t admit blame

Former CEO of Boeing

Dennis Muilenburg; got bad PR advice, felt like a commercial

Apologizing in a Crisis

• sympathy

• redemption

• rectification

• sincerity

• truthfulness

• timely

The A’s in any apology

Acknowledge, Authentic, Appropriate, Acceptable, Act, Announce

Child who died on watersilde

Caleb Schawb

Owner of Schlitterbahn

Jeff Henry

CEO of Tylenol during crisis

James Burke

Key Audiences

Advocates, Ambivoletnts, Adversaries

Advocates

always support you; friendly

Ambivalents

on the fence; could go either way

Adversaries

oppose you no matter what

Workplace violence

criminal intent, customer/client, worker to worker, domestic abuse, ideological violence

Criminal Inent

no relationship with the targeted establishment

Customer/client

perpetrator is a customer or client of the employer

Worker to worker

a current or former employee often motivated by interpersonal or work related conflicts, losses, or trama

Domestic Abuse

perpetrator knows exactly where spouse is

Ideological Violence

religious or political reasons

Takata Airbags

falsified saftey test data; created regulation in the industry

Founder of Takata

Takezo Takada

Crisis Team

team leader, PR, Legal, finance, security, HR, sales

Edgewater

McDermott came and killed 7 people; put employees first, senior management worked through the issues, hired experts to help, involved employees in decisions, communicated regularly

Edgewater CEO

Shirley Singleton

responding to reporters

• never lie

• answer calls or messages of reporters

• stay on the record

• always prepare for an interview

• always have an agenda

• think before you speak

• keep your cool

• don’t accept their definitions

• only be ambiguous when you want

• keep answers short when under fire

• avoid jargon

• avoid “no comment”

harsh realities of a crisis: most crisis situations can be

predicted and prevented; those that can’t be avoided can be minimized

harsh realities of a crisis: serious business problems

don’t become a “crisis” until the public finds out

harsh realities of a crisis: longer it goes on

the more damage it does to sales, earnings, stock price, and competitive position

harsh realities of a crisis: management denial

is the biggest obstacle to effective crisis management

harsh realities of a crisis: the primary concern

is the court of law when it should be the court of public opinion

Crisis Stages

Denial, Containment, Self Defense/Blame Game, Blood on the floor, Fixed

leadership qualities

ethical, decisive, effective communicator, humble, rational, curious, reliable

Denial

“It can’t be that bad”

Containment

make it disappear/assign someone else to solve it

Self Defense/Blame Game

assign blame or take credit

Blood on the Floor

someone pays with his or her job

Fixed

life goes on, sometimes for the better (but you never really get over a crisis)

Thomas Howie

rat foot at Olive garden

Johnson & Johnson Tylenol crisis

immediately recalled bottles; seen as victim of a crime

Pearl Jam

fed up with Ticketmaster and tried to start own ticket selling company, didn’t work

Larry Smith

consultant for crisis management hired for Edgewater crisis

Procter & Gamble Crisis

symbol was speculated as satanic; spent millions of $ defending trademark; bizarre and perceptual crisis

Anna Ayala

“found” finger in chili from Wendys- ended up planting finger from husbands coworker who lost it in workplace accident

Bob Iger

CEO of Disney; one of the most respected CEOs

Disney & the Alligator

no denying who was at fault; committed to make sure that all preventative measures are taken to ensure the safety of visitors; smoldering crisis

Blue Bell

listeria outbreak; 3 people died; shareholder sued management & board of directors

Terry Shalts

employee at blue bell who spoke out against them

Jerald Bland

accused Blue Bell of reusing cardboard containers

Former President/CEO of Blue Bell

Paul Kruse; charged with fraud and conspiracy

Starbucks

2 black men arrested after asking to use a restroom without making a purchase; shut down stores for racial bias training

CEO of Starbucks

Kevin Johnson; took responsibility; apologize in person

Unconscious Racial Bias

take actions against societal norms without knowing it

Racial Profiling

assuming something because of race

Norfolk Southern

train derailment released massive amounts of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio

CEO of Norfolk Southern

Alan Shaw; didn’t go to the scene immediately; no crisis plan