Page 45 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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2 26 Crisis Communication
earlier) and general opinion was that the recent launch would not
be successful without the flamboyant leader.
The real estate developer was concerned that the millions of
dollars of sales expected in the short term would not be forth-
coming, as potential investors believed their money could be
defrauded from the company. Besides, who was now heading the
company that was to deliver their luxury real estate?
The technology company was concerned that confidence in its
CEO would be damaged, leading to institutions and banks calling
back their loans.

Still don’t think you need a crisis plan?
Sometimes something happens that has nothing at all to do with
your company and still a crisis communication situation arises.
NettResults had a client that operated from headquarters in the
United Arab Emirates across the Gulf region. A subsidiary company it
had sold over three years previously, based in Europe, was being inves-
tigated for tax evasion. A journalist investigating the story grabbed at
facts that were untrue in order to tie our client’s ‘newsworthy’ name to
it. The client had no link to the company in Europe (and hadn’t for
some time), but the journalist did not look for the correct legal papers
that proved disassociation, as it would have lessened the newsworthi-
ness of the story.
Another client of the same agency builds water utility facilities. They
built such a facility under contract to a separate organization. After
construction was complete and whilst the facility was being managed
by its owners, it experienced a ‘fault’ that caused a sewage leak. This
leak had nothing to do with the construction of the facility, but once
the word got out, the press got hold of it and sought to apportion
blame.
If you do not have a quick and effective crisis communication plan
in place, the press will fill that ‘media vacuum’ with information,
comment or opinion, which does more to sell their story and less to
protect your business. Still don’t think you need a crisis plan?
All right. What if one of your top employees were to be accused of a
crime that is of a personal nature and has nothing to do with your
organization? Does the organization still have to comment? Most likely,
yes.
Officials at NASA, the US space agency, found themselves in the
midst of a crisis they could never have imagined when astronaut Lisa
Nowak was arrested and charged with attempting to murder her
reputed romantic rival for the affections of another astronaut. To the
media, it did not matter that the crime had nothing to do with sending
people into space. The backlash from the story immediately threat-