Issues and crisis communication management
Week 7
COMM 1057 Public Relations Theory and Practice
This week
• Issues and crisis communication
management
• Topics:
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The issues management process
Research, planning and evaluation of issues
Defining differences between issues and crises
Planning for a crisis
Managing a crisis
Issue
• ‘…a contestable point, a difference of
opinion regarding fact, value, or policy, the
resolution of which has consequences for
the organization’s strategic plan.’ (Heath, 1979)
Planning for Issues
Management
Richard Amity
Robert Heath
Identification
Identification
Evaluation
Scanning
Priorities
Monitoring
Corporate Response
Analysis
Implementation
Priority setting
Life cycle of an issue
Potential
Imminent
Current
Critical
Dormant
(Botan &Taylor 2004)
Issues are diverse
• Issues may be driven by a combination of
factors:
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environmental
ethical or moral (eg abortion)
related to health and safety (eg road toll)
related to aspects of social justice (eg
discrimination)
– international issues (eg global warming)
– cultural differences
(Seymour & Moore 2000)
Theoretical perspectives
• Two- way consultative process plus the need for
relational management
• Communication: different media targeting diverse publics
online and offline
• Key elements of relationship management – trust,
commitment and openness
• Behavioral Change model and Theories of Persuasion
are critical to issues management planning and
discussion.
You may need a position paper
• A significant publication may be required to inform and
develop arguments both for and against the issue
• This allows target publics, stakeholders to:
– examine issues logically and objectively
– begin to define key influencers of the issue
– consider what can and can’t be done about managing the
issue
– what strategies are likely to be more successful in catering
to the needs of those affected by the issue
Campaign Management
• Once business plans are in place, PR intervention
includes:
– awareness raising through media, newsletters, direct mail,
radio interviews and deliberately targeted campaigns
• Issues management campaigns need to be constantly
reviewed, evaluated and new strategies adopted
– new strategies, target different publics
• Public opinion is often swayed by changing events
Researching understanding
• Conduct focus groups internally or externally to
measure the success of issues management
• Survey target groups
• Social media monitoring
• Hot-lines to gauge public response
• Talk back radio and other media response- how
did the media ‘take up the issue”- also letters to
the Editor
• Online hits to key websites and chat room
discussion
Evaluation
• Determining the impact of an issues
management program
• Limited by the other issues that affect the main
one being managed
• Can be ‘scuttled’ by poor or scathing media
• Management may have their own agenda and
not fully support the management of the issue.
• Budget constraints
Issues on the border of a crisis
• Issues may escalate to a crisis depending on:
– the public exposure of the problem
– the numbers of people affected
– public knowledge and awareness may create
panic, concern, loss of faith in a product or in an
organisation
– media involvement may be so intense that it can
fuel speculation and innuendo
Issue v Crisis Management
“An issue ignored is a crisis ensured.”
(Dr Henry Kissinger)
• Crises
– “…sudden events that occasionally disrupt an organisation
while at the same time focusing considerable attention on
it.”
• Issues
– Harder to define – less tangible
– “Issues have to do with policy debates and public opinion”
What is a crisis?
Timothy Coombs(2007)
defines a crisis as
“An unpredictable event
that threatens important
expectancies of
stakeholders and can
seriously impact an
organisation’s
performance and generate
negative outcomes” p.3
Cartoon source http://tomfishburne.com/2012/02/the-five-stages-of-a-pr-disaster.html
The impact of a crisis on an organisation
• It is serious business
• Organisations can
collapse
• Organisations may
suffer through loss of
revenue, loss of staff
• The Credibility gap
widens
• It is also a PR
opportunity
The Chinese concept of “wei ji”
means that every moment of
imbalance or “crisis” presents
an opportunity to evolve or
transform a situation into
something better.
Components of a crisis
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An unexpected event
That poses a threat or challenge
Which is potentially hazardous
Which requires immediate, rapid action
Over which management has limited control
Which may have unpredictable effects and
consequences
(Swedish Emergency Management
Agency cited in Galloway & KwansahAidoo 2005)
Characteristics of a Crisis
Surprise
Insufficient information
Escalating events
Loss of control
Increase outside scrutiny
Siege mentality
Panic
(Seitel FP 2001)
• Text
https://social.ogilvy.com/how-brands-brace-for-crisisin-the-social-media-age-the-playbook/
Types of crises experienced by organisations
Types of crises experienced by organisations
1970s
Nestle Baby Formula
1982
Johnson & Johnson
Extra-strength Tylenol scare
1990s
Nike Sweatshop protests
2013
Target U.S. data leak
Some organisational
crises – a time line
Adapted from
http://fortune.com/2014/02/27/corporatereputation-crises-a-timeline/
Should we plan for a crisis?
"Trying to plan during a crisis is like trying to install air bags while your
car is heading for a wall at high speed."
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/nl/crisismgr040701.html#cmu
• Need to plan ahead of time
• Remember the functions of issues management:
– Develop organisational positions
– Identify key publics whose support is vital
– Identify desired behaviours of key publics
• Is this any different for a crisis?
Planning for crises
http://ongoingoperations.com/blog/2013/01/credit-unioncrisis-management-plan/crisis-management-plan-2/
Crisis Communications Approach
•Anticipate
–Identify potential threats
–Monitor areas of risk
•Prepare
–Define key information in
advance
-Define key roles in advance
- Anticipate information
•Respond
–React quickly and efficiently
–Utilise standard processes and
procedures
Crisis Management Team
• Representatives from following areas:
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Legal
Top management
Public relations
Personnel/industrial relations
Employee communications
Security
Technical activities
Medical
Photography
Media contact/spokesperson
(Johnston & Zawawi, 2000)
Communicating in a Crisis
Legal advice
“Don’t say anything”
versus
Public relations advice
“Tell it all, tell it fast and
tell it truthfully”
The 5Cs of Crisis Communication
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confidence
clarity
control
concern
competence
Devereux, MM & Peirson-Smith, A 2011, Public Relations in Asia
Pacific Communicating Effectively Across Cultures, Wiley,
Chichester. p112
Image source; http://adage.com/article/ad-review/domino-s-apology-video-erase-images/136083/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvg4
-E2C8UE
Who do we need to talk
to?
• Emergency response
teams/authorities
• Employees and
families
• Clients
• Government officials
• Media
• Other affected
organisations
How do we reach them?
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Printed information
Phone
Email
Website
Media organisations
Social media
• Two-way
communication
Media management (I)
• News media are legitimate channels to use in
crises
• News media can spread information quickly
• Journalists will look elsewhere if the company
doesn’t provide the information
• Candid information will emphasise integrity
• News is news for a short time
Media management (II)
• Use assistants to take queries for spokesperson
• Legitimate to withhold some information
• Don’t speculate
• Don’t go ‘off the record’
After the Crisis
• Consider the communication effort
following the crisis
– Continued ‘recovery’ communication
– Say thank-you
– Visits by executives
– Speeches
– Interviews
– Changes to organisation
– Plan for rebuilding relationships
PR relational context, systems context
If practitioners and organisations have created:
§ A culture of openness and transparency internally with employees,
stakeholders and the board
§ And externally with the media, community leaders and other
organisations
§ They will gain greater support because of the open relationships and
trust that they have built.
Organisations that have closed systems and keep information from all
but a select group of employees find that they are:
§ Isolated
§ Collapse occurs quickly
§ No PR, advertising or Marketing Program can manage such a crisis
§ Closed systems generate crisis but can’t manage them when they
occur.
References
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Botan and Taylor 2004, ‘PR: State of the Field,’ Journal of Communication, 54(4)
Galloway C & Kwansah-Aidoo K(ed), 2005, Public relations issues and crisis
management, Thomson Social Science Press, Southbank, VIC
Heath, R 1997, Strategic issues management: Organizations and public policy
changes, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA
Johnston J & Zawawi C (eds), 2000, Public relations theory and practice, Allen &
Unwin, St Leonards, NSW, pp.314-316
Seitel FP 2001, The practice of public relations, 8th edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River, NJ
Seymour, M. & Moore, S 2000, Effective crisis management: Worldwide principles
and practice, Continuum, UK
References
Coombs, WT 2007, Ongoing crisis communication : planning,
managing, and responding, 2nd edn, SAGE Publications, Los Angeles
Howell, G & Miller, DR 2006 'How the relationship between the crisis
life cycle and mass media content can better inform crisis
communication', PRism Online PR Journal, vol. 4, no. 1
2013, Annual ICM CRISIS REPORT 2012, Volume 22, No. 1 Institute
for Crisis Management