Best Practices in Crisis Communications
- 1. BEST PRACTICE IN CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Pete Mackey, Ph.D. President, Mackey Strategies CASE Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals September 18, 2019
- 2. 1 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Program Let's Play Crisis Jeopardy!—including Yours…1 The Crisis Communications Essentials: The APPEX2 Language and Temperature: Keeping Cool4 Speed and Fact: Minding the Gap3 + Scenarios, Practice & Discussion
- 3. 2 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Experience
- 4. 3 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Sample Crisis Experience 4 President resigns in national scandal Sports Illustrated cover story on football team's steroid use Parents host booze party in dorm for underage students—and track it on social media National newspaper digs up damning records in junk yard (wins Pulitzer Prize...) Student lawsuit alleges prejudicial expulsion Racist drive-bys and anti-Semitic posters from locals
- 5. 4 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Sample Crisis Experience 4 Students take over library Campus flood Mascot with racist history Hired major coach resigns the next day Visiting professor seems to threaten the life of a mayor on social media Dean writes every public HS in the state promoting a new class to "combat Christian fundamentalism"
- 6. 5 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals 1. Let's Play Crisis Jeopardy!
- 7. 6 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. The head of a national lab at this institute stepped down over ties to Jeffrey Epstein. What is MIT?
- 8. 7 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. The dean of students at this university resigned after Breitbart resurfaced old tweets. What is U. of Alabama?
- 9. 8 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. A professor at this university inspired a national debate after calling an NYT columnist a “bedbug.” What is GWU?
- 10. 9 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. The chancellor at this university apologized after body-cam footage showed her berating campus police officers. What is Rutgers?
- 11. 10 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. This college paid $11,000,000 to a local bakery over its response to student protests. What is Oberlin?
- 12. 11 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. At this university, students demanded free fabric softener to combat racism. What is Sarah Lawrence?
- 13. 12 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. At this university, a controversy has erupted between faculty over a faculty-diversity initiative. What is Yale?
- 14. 13 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. This college walked back a “Common Language Document” it had posted online. What is Amherst?
- 15. 14 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. This university is facing a lawsuit alleging that it allowed three professors to sexually assault students. What is Dartmouth?
- 16. 15 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Name That Institution…. Your crisis. What is Your Institution?
- 17. 16 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals 2. Crisis Communications APPEX
- 18. 17 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals The Crisis Communications APPEX Awareness Protocol Preparedness Execution (and Xfactor)
- 19. 18 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Crisis Communications Strategy Essentials Awareness: What is the nature of the risk?1 Protocol: Who does what, when, in which situations?2 Preparedness: Of the team, the community, and the systems. 3 Execution: Sound communications until (Xfactor) the issue is fully resolved and your community is fully informed. 4
- 20. 19 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Awareness The Crisis Communications APPEX
- 21. 20 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals My View? Two Primary Types of Crisis Physical Risks Values Risks
- 22. 21 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Two Primary Types of Crisis Examples Physical Risks • Natural disaster • Bad human behavior • Hazmat • IT breaches Values Risks • Racial conflict • Religious conflict • Political conflict • Free speech conflict
- 23. 22 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Primary Crisis Communications Objectives Physical Risks • Minimizing physical harm • Providing guidance on how to minimize the risk • Fostering calm and clarity Values Risks • Clarifying relevant institutional values • Addressing complex human questions • Offering paths for further dialogue and discussion
- 24. 23 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Primary Crisis Communications Types Physical Risks • Quick • Factual • Brief • Detailed information thereafter Values Risks • Substantive • Reflective • Developed across hours, even days • Typically a few elaborate communications
- 25. 24 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Primary Crisis Lead Communicators Physical Risks • Campus police usually first (the first several…) • Later: messages from senior administrators, depending on situational gravity Values Risks • President, if the matter is of regional or national severity • Sometimes others: e.g., provost, head of student affairs, Title IX officer
- 26. 25 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Discussion
- 27. 26 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Protocol The Crisis Communications APPEX
- 28. 27 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals The Two Teams Approach Leadership • Support the president in decision making. • Delegate communications responsibilities as needed. • Hold final authority for communications unless delegated otherwise. • Ensure institutional crisis responsibilities in all areas are thoroughly, carefully managed. Communications • Draft required communications. • Manage communications review, vetting, and distribution. • Determine audiences for and timing of communications. • Sketch out announcements plan, goals, audiences, media, and timing. • Follow through until crisis is fully resolved and community is fully informed.
- 29. 28 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals The Three Teams Approach for Severe Physical Risk Leadership Management • Front-line operational staff • Coordination among them is critical • E.g.: Counseling & health services, housing, dining, plant operations, IT, religious services, parking Communications
- 30. 29 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Discussion
- 31. 30 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Preparedness The Crisis Communications APPEX
- 32. 31 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Key People Preparedness Questions • Is the crisis team regularly practiced? • Case-study conversations regularized? • Table-top practices regularized? • Live-action training regularized? • Media training completed, regularized? • Post-event review embedded? Leadership • Students, faculty, and staff know the communications plan in a crisis? • How are new students and personnel educated in plans & expectations? • Is your alert system in place & regularly tested with campus? Awareness
- 33. 32 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Key Systems Preparedness Questions • Student & personnel cell phone #s in your alerts system? • Parent contact information in your databases? • Pre-populated groups established for rapid communications/alerts with • Leadership Team? • Communications Team? • Management Team? Data • Protocols online? • Crisis-specific webpage ready? • Homepage-alerts module ready? • “Black” homepage ready? Website
- 34. 33 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Discussion
- 35. 34 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Execution The Crisis Communications APPEX
- 36. 35 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals 3. Speed and Fact
- 37. 36 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Mind the Gap: Perception v. Reality Ownership Speed Message Messenger Medium Chaos Vacuum Media Distance Rumor Reality Perception
- 38. 37 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Mind the Gap: Perception v. Reality The message The messenger Reality Perception Audience
- 39. 38 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Moving to Clarity and Resolution Crisis (chaos) Rumor & Confusion Comms ("calms") Resolution Repeat as necessary.
- 40. 39 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Close the Gap: The How, to Whom The Message Values Campus Danger Off campus + Media Info Students
- 41. 40 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Discussion
- 42. 41 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals 4. Language and Temperature
- 43. 42 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Temperature in the Gap = Language? -Non-factual -Judgmental -Irrelevant -Beware modifiers -Factual -Understated -Relevant -Contextual
- 44. 43 2019 Annual Conference for Media Relations Professionals Discussion Connect pete@mackeystrategies.com mackeystrategies.com