Crisis communication is more than a three-ring binder with useful contact information. Crisis response is instinctive. One must remain calm or as calm as possible. The journalistic skills of determining who, what, when, where, why are vital. Digital technology can accelerate a crisis and it can become viral in minutes or even seconds. What are some effective techniques in this ones-and-zeroes world?

1. ““The Bay Bridge is in the Water!”The Bay Bridge is in the Water!”
Kevin Brett
April 23, 2013

2. October 17, 1989October 17, 1989
• 5:04 pm – Al Michaels Goes Off the Air
• 5:04 pm – State Capitol Shakes Violently
• 5:04 pm – Asked to Make It Stop
• 5:07 pm – “The Bay Bridge is in the
Water”
• 5:07 pm – “San Francisco is on Fire”
• 5:07 pm – “The 880 Came Down”
• 5:07 pm – “The Governor is in Germany”

3. Not Exactly inNot Exactly in
the Waterthe Water

4. Loma Prieta AftermathLoma Prieta Aftermath
63 killed, including 41 when the 880 collapsed
3,700 injured
$6 billion in property damage
Portion of Bay Bridge failed
Castro District of SF was on fire
Reminder: We Live on the Ring of FireReminder: We Live on the Ring of Fire

5. NIKE’s “Boston Massacre”NIKE’s “Boston Massacre”

6. Tony Hayward of BPTony Hayward of BP
• “I'm sorry. We're sorry for the massive
disruption it's caused their lives. There's
no one who wants this over more than I
do. I'd like my life back.”

7. Someone’s Client?Someone’s Client?

8. Tone Deaf CEOs?Tone Deaf CEOs?

9. Full Employment for Reporters?Full Employment for Reporters?
• The Bubble Burst
• ENRON
• Martha Stewart
• Wal-Mart Bribery Case
• $6,000 Shower Curtain
• $2 million Toga Party
• Sarbanes-Oxley
• SEC REG FD (Fair Disclosure)
• Jon Stewart/Jim Cramer Interview

10. Spirit Airlines to Dying Flyer:Spirit Airlines to Dying Flyer:
You’re Not Getting a $197 RefundYou’re Not Getting a $197 Refund
• “Still, at the end of the day, companies have actual real
people as employees. And if you're the type of person
who thinks most people are decent, you might assume
those employees want the place they work to be
interested in doing the right thing – even if it means
sacrificing a little profit now and then.” – Yahoo Finance,
May 4, 2012

11. $100 to FB Message Mark$100 to FB Message Mark

12. Brand Train WrecksBrand Train Wrecks

13. Closer to HomeCloser to Home

14. Instant Social Media Classic

15. During the CrisisDuring the Crisis
• Avoid Panic
• Develop Under Fire Instinct
• Remember: Media Are Not Your Friends
• Be Cooperative, But Check Your Facts First
• Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
• Never Be Afraid to Say, “I don’t know”
• Up-to-Date Contact List

16. Wisdom, Even from CorvallisWisdom, Even from Corvallis
“I tell our players all the time, ‘As soon as you start
going down the wrong track and you start doing
something wrong, the clock starts ticking until the
day you are caught, because it’s going to
happen’…In our world today, you think it’s not
going to be found out eventually?” -- Oregon
State Football Coach Mike Riley

17. Two Images of MichaelTwo Images of Michael
PhelpsPhelps

18. ““Really Checking Her Out”Really Checking Her Out”
Facebook Page:
Fired Secret Service Agent

19. Reputations/Brands Destroyed in MinutesReputations/Brands Destroyed in Minutes
• Digital is Discoverable; Digital is Permanent
• Bad News Almost Always Finds It Way into Public Domain
• Spreads Faster than Ever
• Your Reputation and Brand is in Play 24/7/365
• Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Flickr,
Pinterest…
• A few key strokes from anywhere in the world at any time…

20. Boston Marathon BombingBoston Marathon Bombing

21. Reputation/Brand Checklist
• BMW?
• Starbucks?
• Apple?
• BP?
• Al Michaels?
• Monte Te’o?
• Lance Armstrong?
• Charlie Sheen?
• Lindsay Lohan?

22. Not A Matter of “If,” A Matter of “When”Not A Matter of “If,” A Matter of “When”
• Tell the Truth
• Tell it All
• Tell it Fast
• Move On

23. Manage or Be ManagedManage or Be Managed
• Accept Inevitability of Disclosure
• Set the Timing for Your Disclosure
• Control the Method of Disclosure
• Stakeholders hear from you first, not your competitors
• Avoid being thrown on the Defensive
• If required, file an 8K news release

24. The Benefit of the DoubtThe Benefit of the Doubt
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Maintain Fiduciary; Practice CSR – Not Mutually
Exclusive
• Be an Active, Positive Force in Your Community
• Build and Maintain Relationships (i.e., employees,
government officials, media, civic leaders, chambers,
service clubs…)

25. Crisis Management in a DigitalCrisis Management in a Digital
WorldWorld
• Stay Calm, Don’t Panic
• “Be Quick, But Don’t Hurry” – John Wooden
• Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• Tell the Truth, Tell it All, Tell it Fast, Move On
• Once Your Reputation and Brand are Gone; You Will Never Get
Them Back
• Your Reputation and Brand are in Play 24/7/365
• Earn the Benefit of the Doubt

27. Write Your Own 8K News ReleaseWrite Your Own 8K News Release
• Micron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steven R. Appleton,
52, Dies in Private Plane Crash
• Friday, Feb. 3, 2012; Appleton dies in a crash of the small plane he
was piloting at Boise, Idaho airport
• Micron Technology Board of Directors (NASDAQ: MU) suspends
trading on Friday, Feb. 3. Appoints Mark Durcan as new CEO on
Sat. Feb 4. Resumes trading at noon EST Monday, Feb. 6.
• Micron Technology, Inc., engages in the manufacture and marketing
of semiconductor devices worldwide. Its products for data storage
and retrieval include dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
products.

28. Write Your Own 8K News ReleaseWrite Your Own 8K News Release
• Thursday May 29, 1996: Jerry R. Junkins, 58, dies from a heart
attack on a sales trip to Stuttgart, Germany
• Junkins was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN).
• Upon hearing the news, the TI Board of Directors selected vice
chairman Pat Weber as the interim CEO.
• Trading in Texas Instruments common stock has been suspended
until noon EDT today
• Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) designs and makes semiconductors,
which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globally.

29. Emulex Hoax
• Phony 8K News Release (CEO resigns, Quarterly Earnings
Restatement, SEC probe)
• ELX declines from $103.94 to $43.00 (62 percent) in 16 minutes;
$2.2 billion in lost market capitalization
• Company halts trading; Issues news release; stock finishes at
$105.75
• College student Mark Jakob sentenced to 44 months in prison;
$103,000 in penalties
• Media changes procedures to verify accuracy of news releases,
particularly financial wire services