In a crisis, there’s a real temptation to focus on the here and now. Our instinct is to go into survival mode. It’s hard enough to think about getting through the next 24 hours, let alone to think about what to do once the crisis is over.
Crisis Communications
How do you deal with a crisis you never imagined could occur?
Have you ever considered what you would do if, say, a newspaper said that your business was (incorrectly) a dogging site? (And no, I’m not defining that!) It might seem like an outlandish idea for you to consider, but as…
Creating resilient teams: how to support teams through a crisis
While you can pay special attention to your team’s wellbeing during a crisis, one thing that’s a big help for people navigating tough situations is resilience. Resilience isn’t developed overnight. It’s also not necessarily something that carries over from home…
The role of leaders during a brand crisis
Strong leadership can make the difference between a crisis that damages your reputation irrevocably, and one that you recover and learn from. A leader’s role during a crisis should include six areas: setting the strategy for the crisis; setting the…
The art of the apology: 5 ways to do it well
Some people may think that it’s a bad idea for brands to apologise to their customers when they get something wrong. Doesn’t an apology imply blame? Couldn’t that have legal implications? But…they may still want to issue an apology, you…
Why do people flout the lockdown guidelines? Lessons from 1940
Even before the government amended the social distancing rules, I’ve noticed people start to flout the ‘stay at home’ guidelines more and more as lockdown continues. When I first had to travel across London to collect some bits from my…
When is a crisis not a crisis?
I was chatting to Ben Smith for the PR Moment podcast recently about crisis communications, and one of the things that came up in conversation was: what is a crisis? And how do you know when you’re officially in a…
What is empathy? How can brands put it into action during a crisis?
When we run crisis simulations, we look for the participants to respond using empathy. What we often see is teams that prepare an official statement on the crisis, and then copy and paste part or all of that statement to…
Ocado’s response to warehouse fire brings its community together
At 2:44 am on Tuesday 5th February, Ocado’s high-tech Hampshire-based customer fulfilment centre caught fire. Firefighters have been working to control the blaze, and were still dealing with the fire two days after it started. As the centre can manage…
Why being honest matters in a crisis
“Why is it important for companies to be honest in a crisis?” I’m talking to John Brown, founder of Don’t Cry Wolf, an agency that works with ‘no bullshit’ brands – brands that want to make honest and openness a…