Page 114 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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Fraud 95

as Wendy’s that had cultivated an image as a family friendly
franchise, carefully nurtured by its affable founder Dave
Thomas, meant that such a strategy would have left a cloud over
its reputation.

Just because an organization finds itself the innocent victim of fraud it
does not mean that it should not adopt the techniques of crisis PR
management. On the contrary, the public needs to be reminded that
the organization is doing everything it can to prevent such incidents.
The Tylenol case (see Chapter 1), is another extreme example of an
attempt to defraud a highly reputable company – in this case, Johnson
& Johnson.

Implementing an action plan

As with other forms of PR crisis management, addressing the issue of
fraud involves proven techniques and organizing an effective team
that speaks with a single voice and responds promptly to inquiries.
Countering the damage done by the perception of fraud by your client
requires a plan of action that meets both short- and long-term goals.
Short-term priorities of the crisis PR management team must include,
as mentioned earlier, reliable fact-gathering, development of an
internal and external communication plan, mobilization of supportive
third parties who can vouch for the integrity of the firm, and develop-
ment of a rapid response capability that enables the organization to set
the story agenda rather than react to events and charges. Long term,
the challenge is to remove any lingering doubts about the organization
being committed to transparency and remaining worthy of the reputa-
tion it enjoyed before fraud became an issue.
The internal fact-finding process should include the company’s
most reliable and objective personnel supplemented, if necessary, by
outsiders assigned by the crisis management team. The document
they produce should be carefully reviewed by top management. It
should be assembled in a straightforward readable form that takes
responsibility for mistakes, apologizes if necessary, but does not appear
defensive in tone.
Throughout, it is important to be sensitive to any human cost if
fraud was involved. The crisis management team must make sure that
if any individuals or organizations have suffered as a result of some