Crisis communication resources to help you protect your revenue, reputation, and brand.
Effective crisis communications when “it” hits the fan.
Effective crisis communications when “it” hits the fan.
Our blog is filled with deep resources to help with your crisis communication needs. Whether you are writing a crisis communication plan, seeking the best media training tips, or digging for case studies on crisis situations, you’ll find it here. Our goal is to give you all of the public relations resources you need to protect your revenue, reputation, and brand.
For those of you who love DIY and taking on a challenge, we’ve worked really hard to give you a good road map to follow. However, sometimes the fastest option is to bring in a pro. If that’s the case, we’re fully vaccinated and we’re ready to meet your needs, anywhere and anytime.
If you need help with your crisis communications plan, we’re ready to help.
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Here are 5 Media Training Lessons from Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner’s recent interview with the New York Times regarding his upcoming book “The Masters,” which features interviews he conducted with artists such as John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and others while at the helm of Rolling Stone.
Wenner, when interviewed about why his new book profiles only white males as pioneers of rock, made various statements about blacks and women that have set off a firestorm of criticism.
Among his infamous statements, The Times quotes Wenner as saying, “Insofar as the women, just none of them were as articulate enough on this intellectual level.”
Such a quote makes Wenner a perfect example of why media training is vital before any media interview.
Wenner personifies a lesson I’ve taught in every media training class since the mid-1990s, which is for a spokesperson to ask themselves, “If I could attach a dollar to every word I say, would I make money or lose money?”
Wenner’s verbal faux pas was done in conjunction with an interview to promote a book. How much has Wenner damaged his book sale? Plus, how much has he damaged the revenue, reputation, and brand of Rolling Stone magazine?
Many executives arrogantly think they can enter any interview without preparation. Arrogance combined with denial are a one-two punch that few executives survive when they enter an interview without practice. I’ve long taught executives in my media training classes that it is better to make a verbal mistake in private than to make that mistake in public.
Media training is not supposed to make a spokesperson change their core beliefs. But if the spokesperson’s core beliefs will stir unwanted controversy, it is the media trainer’s job to coach the spokesperson on how to rephrase their statements, since controversy will undoubtedly hurt revenue, reputation, and brand.
In an interview, the spokesperson must understand the difference between their internal monologue and their external conversation. Case in point, Wenner is quoted as saying, “For public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism,” and “Maybe I’m old-fashioned and I don’t give a (expletive) or whatever.”
Guess who does give a (expletive)? Women, blacks, and many other potential readers of Rolling Stone and potential purchasers of his book, The Masters.
You can’t put the genie back in the bottle and you can’t put lipstick on a pig to make an “ugly” creature look prettier. In a clear “oh sh*t” moment, the publisher of Wenner’s book issued a statement that says, “In my interview with The New York Times I made comments that diminished the contributions, genius and impact of black and women artists and I apologize wholeheartedly for those remarks.”
Wenner’s quotes caused Rolling Stone magazine to go into crisis response mode. The magazine issued a statement that says, “Jann Wenner’s recent statements to the New York Times do not represent the values and practices of today’s Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner has not been directly involved in our operations since 2019.”
In conclusion, no media interview should be taken lightly, and no media interview should ever be done without practice. Every word, phrase, and nuance of an interview will be scrutinized by the journalists. There is no margin for error.
To discuss media training for you and your organization, schedule a complimentary, confidential call with me https://calendly.com/braud/15min
Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…” and founder of SituationHub crisis communications software.
More crisis communications articles:
15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Crisis Communications
Can You Handle a Crisis When it Hits by Winging It?
Where is Your Crisis Communications Funnel Clogged?
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Hurricane Season can teach us a lot about crisis communications. The lessons about Hurricane Season can be transferred to other aspects of your organization’s crisis communications strategy. Read more
One of the things you have probably heard me say in my articles, on The BraudCast YouTube Channel, or on LinkedIn is how much I hate social media for effective crisis communications.
Twitter may be somewhat useful, YouTube may be somewhat useful, but Facebook is completely useless when it comes to communicating about a crisis. Let’s use a case study to analyze effective crisis communications after Hurricane Ian. Or in this case, ineffective crisis communications.
Pardon my french, but DUMB people head to Facebook to try and get live updates and announcements about storms and other crises. Check out the video above to look at some actual comments and questions that people post. A company, or specifically an electric company in this case, may put out information or make an update to Facebook to try to manage the expectations of their customers.
However, the audience and demographic on Facebook ask ridiculous questions that just create noise. None of the comments advance the knowledge of anyone involved. Watch the videos to see how these complaints impact the reputation and revenue of this specific electric company, and how they could impact your company in the future.
To set goals, talk about your needs, and formulate a budget for communicating before, during and after natural disasters and other crises, schedule a complimentary, confidential call with me https://calendly.com/braud/15min
Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…” and founder of SituationHub crisis communications software.
More crisis communications articles:
15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Crisis Communications
Can You Handle a Crisis When it Hits by Winging It?
Where is Your Crisis Communications Funnel Clogged?
Last week, we talked about Hurricane Ian crisis communications and how companies and organizations should manage the expectations of their audience BEFORE a storm. This week we talk about how companies and organizations should manage the expectations of their audience AFTER the storm.
Yes, you still can, and still should manage expectations for AFTER the storm runs its course. So many people ask “Can I survive the storm?” when really they should be asking themselves “Can I endure the misery and trauma of being without power, water, and cell phone signal for weeks after the storm?”
Electric companies, utility companies, fire departments, police agencies and other first responders should be communicating to the public just how bad it can get and encouraging folks to evacuate if necessary. That means using scare tactics and painting the picture of being without these creature comforts for WEEKS, not days.
SituationHub is an app that can help you release a pristine, beautiful news release to help your company communicate the information you need to get across, FAST, as conditions and crises are unfolding. I’m featuring the news release that you would use in a situation like Hurricane Ian. Watch the video to see how it works.
To set goals, talk about your needs, and formulate a budget to communicate effectively in a crisis, schedule a complimentary, confidential call with me https://calendly.com/braud/15min
Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…” and founder of SituationHub crisis communications software.
More crisis communications articles:
15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Crisis Communications
As Hurricane Ian pummels Florida, I’m sharing some crisis communications strategies on managing the expectations of your audience, citizens, stakeholders, clients, and employees BEFORE your hurricane, tropical storm, or other natural disaster hits.
Yes, I said BEFORE.
Many companies and organizations I work with on media training, crisis communications, or those that use the SituationHub software ask me, “Well, why is there a news release in the SituationHub database that can be used BEFORE a tropical storm? Why are there documents for us to release regarding hurricane warnings and tropical storm warnings?”
The SituationHub software provides you with news releases that you can release to the media, your employees, your clients, and stakeholders before the crisis to manage their expectations. You customize the new release with your specifications. What would have taken your team hours to write DURING a crisis, can now be prepared before a crisis in just minutes.
Before a storm, you may be communicating information about evacuation plans, expectations for supply chain interruptions, how long your company expects to be closed for, who to contact, etc. This is far more effective than trying to play “clean up” after the storm and trying to get in contact with all of your audiences about these factors while you have destruction, power outages, and a lack of cell phone capabilities.
Managing expectations before a crisis makes all of the difference in managing expectations after a crisis.
For help with managing expectations, schedule a complimentary, confidential call with me https://calendly.com/braud/15min
Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…” and founder of SituationHub crisis communications software.
More crisis communications articles:
15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Crisis Communications
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gerard@braudcommunications.com