The document presents strategies for reputation repair after a crisis, emphasizing the significance of effective communication and advance planning to mitigate damage to an organization's image. It outlines various communication strategies based on Benoit's Image Restoration Theory, highlighting actions such as corrective action and acceptance of responsibility as essential for restoring reputation. Additionally, it discusses the vital role of incident notification systems in managing communication during crises to ensure accurate and timely messaging.

1. Reputation Repair:
How to Restore Your Image After a Crisis
Robert C. Chandler, Ph.D.
Director, Nicholson School of Communication

2. About Everbridge
• Leader in incident notification systems
• Fast-growing global company with
more than 1,500 clients in more
than 100 countries
• Serve the Global 2000, healthcare
systems, state and local government,
federal government, military, financial
services firms, and universities
• 100% focused on incident notification
solutions that merge technology
and expertise
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3. Agenda
Part 1: Presentation
• How to transform crisis into confidence
• Comparing different communication strategies
• What types of messages help you get back into the
good graces of your constituents
Part 2: Q&A
3

4. Q&A Note:
slides are currently
available to everyone on
blog.everbridge.com
Use the Q&A
function to
submit your
questions.
4

5. Reputation Repair:
How to Restore Your Image
BracingAfterthe 2010
for a Crisis
Hurricane Season
Dr. Robert Chandler
University of Central Florida

6. What is your reputation really worth?
• A valuable brand or solid reputation
which took decades to fortify can be at
risk in a matter of hours.
• Your reputation is valuable.
• Your reputation is vulnerable.
• Reputation is not an attribute of an
organization; it exists in the perceptions
of constituents.

7. Crisis after crisis in the media…
• Companies can be faulted or blamed for
various crises and disasters.
• In some cases, this threat to reputation
and brand pose far greater risks than
physical catastrophes.
• In every critical situation, image and
brand management are increasingly
important in the wake of billions of dollars
lost due to reputation and brand erosion,
as well as declining stakeholder
confidence due to such scandals.
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8. Toyota BP Japan
Although the crisis for Toyota’s braking High radiation levels
Toyota peaked during woes quickly detected at
spring 2010 it started subsided as Tony Fukushima grounds a
with a single, horrifying Hayward and month after
car crash in southern the BP crisis explosions.
California in August captured our
2009. attention three
months later.
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9. Social media gaffes
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10. Enron as the Hurricane Katrina of ethical
misconduct disasters
• The cost of corporate recklessness calculated direct
business/value losses related to the Enron disaster at
more than $200 billion.
• These estimates include lost investment savings, jobs,
pension losses and tax revenue. The report estimated
that more than a million workers lost their jobs at the
affected companies and those indirectly impacted.
• Further, the costs to businesses, stakeholders, and
management include hundreds of millions in litigation
costs; punitive and compensatory fines; tarnished brands,
images, and reputations; and loss of consumer and
investor confidence.

11. Enron as the Hurricane Katrina of ethical
misconduct disasters
In the 2 ½ years following the
implosion of Enron, it is estimated
that world capital markets lost
between $4 and $7 trillion, believed
to be attributable to the Enron ethics
disaster scandal which ruined
pension plans, crashed equity value,
costing jobs, wiping out investments,
and left an enormous hole in the US
and world economy.

12. Introduction to reputation repair
• All too frequently there is a lack of adequate advance planning
and preparedness to communicate effective messages – or even
understanding that various types of message options exist.
• Most managers have little training
in what to say that best protects
their image or helps repair it when
it has been tarnished.
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13. Introduction to reputation repair
Communication activities involved in responding to a
reputation damaging crisis include determining:
• Optimal timing
• Message or thematic priorities
• Specific messages to be conveyed to the public and media
• Specific messages to be conveyed to targeted individuals
• Source(s) of messages
• Priorities for communication
• Optimal delivery channels
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14. Introduction to reputation repair
• Benoit (1995) has developed the Image Restoration Theory
(IRT) that offers a descriptive system of examining image
restoration or repair strategies employed.
• IRT claims that an organization’s central, although
not only, goal of crisis communication is “restoring
or protecting one’s reputation.”
• Benoit’s Image Restoration Theory posits five primary macro
strategies: denial, evading of responsibility, reducing the
offensiveness, corrective action, and mortification.
We have added silence as a six strategy.
• Fourteen specific message tactics fall within these
six broad categories.
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15. Introduction to reputation repair
Summary Definitions of Crisis Communication
Strategies and Tactics
Categories Strategies Working Definition
1 Corrective Action Restore situation or prevent reoccurrence
2 Denial Simple Denial Contradiction of accusation
3 Shifting Blame Pass the guilt to another party
Evading of Responsibility
4 Accident Unintentional action or effect
5 Defeasibility Didn't know about or not in control
6 Good Intentions Motives were good
7 Provocation Responding to an offensive act
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16. Introduction to reputation repair
Summary Definitions of Crisis Communication
Strategies and Tactics
Categories Strategies Working Definition
8 Mortification Admission and acceptance of responsibility
Reducing the Offensiveness
9 Bolstering Relate positive features of the offender
10 Minimization Reduce importance of the offense
11 Differentiation Less offensive than other actions
12 Transcendence Viewed favorably in larger/different context
13 Attack Counterattack accuser
14 Compensation Reimburse victims
15 Silence No comment or ignoring accusation
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17. Stability model
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
Positively regarded, Negatively Very negatively
and extremely stable regarded, but regarded, and stable
hierarchical ranking shifting in in hierarchical ranking
placement of
preference
• Corrective action • Bolstering • Provocation
• Compensation • Good intentions • Blame shift
• Mortification • Defeasibility • Silence
• Differentiate • Deny
• Transcendence
• Minimization
• Counterattack
• Accident
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18. Situational model crisis communication
research and theory recommendations
• Informing strategies for low fault, previous history,
and a good reputation
• Diminish relevance strategies for minimum
perceived responsibility
• Rebuild reputation with either strong responsibility
or negative prior history
• Denial strategies for rumors
• Mixing denial strategies with rebuilding or
diminishing erodes effectiveness
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19. Passive “ethical policies” alone
are inadequate
• Formal codes of conduct and ethics statements
alone are insufficient
• Active not passive ethics efforts
• Ethical concerns must be regarded as on par with
other business disruption/resumption concerns

20. “Integrity continuity”
• “Integrity continuity” planning is also a due diligent
policy and business continuity priority
• Such planning must go beyond compliance issues
and reactive disciplinary policies to actually
manage integrity
• Employees who know that certain workplace
decisions, behaviors, and processes exist in an
ethically judged context are more aware and
motivated to act ethically

21. What not to do
• Don’t take too long to respond to the crisis
• Do not shift the blame – take/accept responsibility
• Actions should fulfill promises made
• Don’t drag your feet
• Don’t make unrealistic promises
• Don’t lose sight of your audience and critics
• Don’t fail to understand all facets of the situation
“There’s no one who wants this
thing over more than I do.
I’d like my life back.”
"No statement shall be made containing
- Tony Hayward, CEO, BP any of the following: promises that
property, ecology or anything else will
be restored to normal."
- BP’s oil disaster plan filed with the
federal government in 2009

22. What to say:
• Bolstering
• Mitigation efforts
• Speed up compensation efforts
• Take immediate corrective action
• Take responsibility – make a public apology
for the entire situation

23. Script out your communication beforehand
There is no substitute for carefully preparing communication in a crisis
to prevent the blunders and missteps we have seen
• Prepare messaging in advance
• Focus on a set of key messages that need to be delivered
• Each phase of the crisis should be well scripted and practiced
• Keep comments respectful to all parties involved
• If you expect to speak in front of a camera, practice beforehand
• Avoid sounding scripted
• You will be more comfortable when unexpected events occur

24. Don’t stray from your plan
Practice your crisis communication plan early and
often to prevent swaying from key messaging. For
example, in two distinct instances, Hayward’s
message has contradicted BP’s oil spill disaster plan.
• Media statement: Promised that BP would
clean up every drop of oil and “restore the
shoreline to its original state”
• National TV commercial: Pledges
"We will make this right.”

25. Deliver messages the right way
• Communicate clearly, simply, and calmly
• Convey compassion, conviction, and optimism
• Recognize and acknowledge anger, frustration, fear,
outrage, or concern
• Indicate that you genuinely share your audience’s concerns
• Provide 3 or more positive points to counter negative information
• Gain trust by admitting there are things you don’t know
• Accept and involve the public and the media as
legitimate partners

26. Incident Notification
Marc Ladin
Chief Marketing Officer, Everbridge
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27. Incident notification addresses
common challenges
• Communicate brand repair • Reduce miscommunications and
messages quickly, easily, and control rumors with accurate,
efficiently to avoid lengthy brand consistent messages which reinforce
damage your situation or stability model
communications
• Use all contact paths to make sure
corrective actions are • Free key personnel to perform
communicated and received critical tasks after the crisis by
automating manual, time-intensive,
• Ensure two-way communications error-prone processes
for better visibility and planning
• Improve communication
effectiveness by eliminating any
single point of failure
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28. Key evaluation criteria for an incident
notification system
• Experience and expertise
• Ease of use
• Ability to reach all contact paths,
including voice, email, native SMS
(over SMPP and SMTP), IM, and more
• Ease of integration
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29. Q&A Note:
slides are currently
available to everyone on
blog.everbridge.com
Use the Q&A
function to
submit your
questions.
29

30. Communication resources
Contact information Upcoming webinars:
System Demo (July 28)
www.everbridge.com/webinars
White papers, literature, case studies
www.everbridge.com/resources
Robert C. Chandler, Ph.D.
rcchandl@mail.ucf.edu Follow us:
1.407.823.2683 blog.everbridge.com
twitter.com/everbridge
facebook.com/everbridgeinc
youtube.com/user/everbridge
Marc Ladin
marc.ladin@everbridge.com
1.818.230.9700
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