Practical PR strategies for reputation management and company survival
Edited
by: Peter F Anthonissen
Year
of Publishing: 2009
Crisis
Communication is a book providing knowledge about how to do crisis preparation,
crisis survival, media training, and reputation management. Book has got a contribution
of twenty experts across the globe. It is like a crisis manual where people
talk through their experiences by giving examples of some of the major crises
that happened and what were the results. It includes case studies,
communication checklist during crisis and sample of crisis preparation
document.
The
advice of experts from different parts of the world has been collated and
edited by Peter Frans Anthonissen. He has written this book with the help of
nineteen other experts. He is from Belgium who is an expert in crisis
communication and reputation management. He is the founder of communication
consultancy Anthonissen & Associates. His clients include Coca- Cola, Renault,
P&G, Microsoft, GM, and Janssen Pharmaceutical.
According
to ‘Murphy’s Law’ “whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst
possible time, in the worst possible way”.
The book begins with an introduction of the twenty contributors, some of
the brands they worked for and their area of expertise. It follows up by
talking about what is crisis and crisis in different sectors. It talks about
how one need to be proactive during the crisis and having a crisis directory
can be helpful. The writer also gives templates that can be used to communicate
with the media during a crisis.
In
the third chapter, the book talks about the importance of reputation management
which requires a strategic approach. The approach should support the long term
business goals so the message should be creative, target the correct audience
and should be factual. The names become a valuable asset which means that the
company should be strategic about how they want to be known for and communicate
what they stand for. Stories-real stories- add depth to the reputation of the
firm.
Natural
calamities and disasters are something which we can be prepared for yet we
cannot predict it. The author of this chapter tells us three things which one
should do while handling a natural disaster crisis. Those are: Take care of
yourself, be prepared and expect the unexpected.
In
the age of the internet, financial crisis and fraud represents serious
challenges for public companies. Communication plays the most important role in
this. The management should focus on improving their performance which will
help them in minimizing the crisis. The issue is supported by examples and case
studies in the book, and how one can handle it.
The
author provides information about how restructuring and reorganization of a
company can turn into a potential crisis and how it can be avoided. In such a scenario,
consistency is what matters the most. Examples are given and also talk about the
measures that can be taken by the companies in such cases.
The
food sector is the most crisis prone. Consumers demand information about the
food which they consume and crisis in this sector affects a lot of people. The
book consists of examples of the challenges faced by the international food
sector.
Crisis
is informed to people through press and communicators should know how to deal
with negative press. It all depends on the ability of a person to plan and
communicate proactively. In this chapter, it is discussed how a brand can be
scrutinized by a journalist and how this crisis can be mitigated.
During
any crisis, the employees of the company play an important role in people
reacting to the situation. It is really important to provide media training to
employees for them to know how they should deal with the press. Successful
media training requires preparation and practice. Without proper training, senior
management can make the crisis worse. The correct road taken can help a company
gain its reputation back.
The
pace and reach of the internet is changing things. The company needs to respond
and engage faster during the time of crisis. The firms can take advantage of it
and make the communication listening and sharing, not just talking. During
crisis risk managers are the people who identify and reduce the impact of the
risk in a business.
The
last chapter of the book consists of the checklists during crisis
communication. It has got a crisis survival kit, crisis manual, an employee training
guide, crisis strategy and how to communicate during crisis.
Through
this book, readers get advice from experts on how to limit the damage, the
crisis effectively by acting quickly and positively. All the topics are
supported by examples and case studies. The book lacks the viewpoint of people
from Asia and the Middle East. It also teaches us how to turn a crisis into an
opportunity by using correct public relations strategy. The book is an
excellent guide for communication professionals.
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