With the volumes of resources, insights, and an entire industry built around crisis management, it’s amazing that even the biggest names in the news still fail to heed the basics.
• JP Morgan: incurs $2 billion in trading losses… and no holding statement on its website. Who do you think is controlling the message?
• Sukhoi: the Russian jet maker crashes its next-generation commercial aircraft, killing dozens and jeopardizing billions in international trade… but it took three days to get a statement of regret on its website. Who do you think is controlling the message?
• Mitt Romney: gets caught up in the anti-bullying narrative as a villain… and offers an evolving non-apology to my-bad-if-anyone’s-hurt apology (and even had his campaign outright deny knowledge of very sensational events). Who do you think is controlling the message?
Crisis management, when done well, requires asserting as much control over the controversy as possible. Delayed messages, stalling tactics, and flat silence can never be part of a successful PR response strategy.
