Crisis Media
Crisis and reputational damage: the new normal
We live in age age of digital surveillance where anyone with an axe to grind and access to social media can cause enormous damage to your reputation. An organisation can spend decades painstakingly building up its reputation only to have it destroyed in a matter of months, weeks, and days when a crisis strikes.
That crisis might be something particular to your organisation, to a specific employee, to your industry, or to society more broadly. Those issues might relate to health and safety, workplace culture, leadership gaffes, leaks from staff, the environment, wage disputes, and so on.
Organisations that trade on their reputation are increasingly taking the view that operating without having a crisis media plan in place is like a transport company putting vehicles on the road without insurance.
The importance of crisis media audits, plans, & media liaison
Responding to a media and reputational crisis when it is erupting is not ideal. Emotions are running high, individuals can start freestyling on messaging, there is no clear division of labour, staff can start leaking messages to the media, a spokesperson can reveal too much or not enough. Your organisation can end up looking disorganised or opaque.
Crisis media is about auditing your organisational risks, developing statements for media, having a staff and stakeholder communication strategy, getting the sequencing right, developing effective key messaging, killing or shaping damaging stories, pivoting, flagging, and getting your processes in order to avoid a crisis in the first place.
David has worked with organisations and industries under intense media and public scrutiny. David has helped peak bodies, CEOs & senior federal politicians to prepare for Royal Commissions and media scrutiny by providing crisis media strategy documents, holding statements, media training, and acting as a media counsel and liaison to handle potential damaging stories.
Book a complimentary crisis media consultation.
First Tier Media offers complimentary crisis media consultations for organisations for whom reputation is critical. Fill out the form or contact us on david@firsttiermedia.com or 0479 130 242