Prepare for the Unexpected
Even the best companies are vulnerable to a public relations crisis. While you can’t predict when a crisis will hit — or the level of devastation to your brand — you can create a plan that will mitigate damage.
We Get Results
How we helped guide a company through potentially damaging situations to the brand by creating a Crisis Briefing Book
A regional pest-control company realized it would be hard-pressed to respond quickly and effectively if there were an accident with one of its chemical-carrying vehicles, or if somehow the company were linked to an illness or outbreak that had no connection to its products or services. The reality was that it would not take much to damage a valuable brand.
The Challenge
The Challenge
For more than five years, the company has continually updated its "Crisis Briefing Book" to reflect new scenarios and changing business realities. While CMC has been called on to assist with managing minor crisis situations, in many cases company executives are able to handle incidents with guidance from the briefing book.
The Outcome
The Outcome
Crisis management for the company came in two distinct parts. The first was conceiving a plan to cover a number of potential crises. The second was executing that plan in the heated atmosphere of a crisis. CMC helped company leaders identify the scenarios that could have the biggest negative impact on the brand. We then drafted scenarios, talking points, sample press releases, social media posts and supporting materials. Contact information, messaging, talking points and other materials for each scenario were assembled in a “Crisis Briefing Book,” which CMC helps the company update annually. When a crisis hits, the idea is to be ready with approved messages, talking points and more. We prepared the company to report quickly on actions already taken. We assembled data that would be useful in crisis, such as the nature of the chemicals carried on company trucks. We prepared them to talk to team members, the community, the industry and the media.
The Strategy
The Strategy
How we helped ...
“We sleep better knowing the plan is in place.”
"Ours is a thorough, well-prepared company, but I realized one day we were not prepared to handle a public-relations crisis. Several business friends all had the same advice: 'Call Cindy Miller Communications.' We did, and within months we had a formed a Crisis Response Team, drafted a briefing book that outlined roles and responsibilities for everyone in the company, created talking points and collected all the important data sheets about our materials and processes. As Cindy Miller told us early on, 'You’re going to build a plan you hope you never have to use.' So far, we haven’t, but we sleep better knowing the plan is in place."
— Lanny Allgood, CEO, Cingo
