Elearning - Lspr.edu: Master of Arts in Communication: Corporate Communication Studies

Course : Crisis Communication (1510CC07)
elearning.lspr.edu
Master of Arts in Communication : Corporate Communication Studies
LSPR eLearning Program
Session Topic : Crisis Communication Plan &

Crisis Makers 2
Course: Crisis Communication

By Syafiq B. Assegaff, MA, MD, CBM, IAPR
Content
Part 1
Crisis Communication Plan
Part 2
Crisis Makers
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Part1: Crisis Communications Plan
CCP: Crisis Communications Plan
Developing a CCP
a. Crisis Communications Plan can be
either:
1) Part of larger Crisis Management
Plan (CMP)
with various
instructions, big volume.
2) Or as a stand alone as a document
to help PR: more manageable,
easier to read.
b. Make 3 different CCP if Crisis
Inventory determines three (3)
likely crises:
A plan for earthquake different
from a plan for product failure:
publics, media, & key messages
(for each crisis) are different.
c.
1)
2)
3)
4)
CCP States:
Purposes
Policies
Goals
Assign employees to various
duties.
d. Generally CCP makes

communication with public faster
& more effective;
e. Should help (to) end the crisis
more swiftly than without a plan.
f. Remember:
CCP is not a manual
guaranteeing success;
dont just do by the book
activities, but must be flexible.
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Crisis: 16 Components of a CCP
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Cover page
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Rehearsal dates
Purpose & Objectives
List of Key Publics
Notifying the Publics
Identifying the Crisis
Communication Team
9. Crisis Directory
10.Identifying the Media

Spokesperson
11.List of Emergency
Personnel, Local
Officials
12.List of Key Media
13.Crisis Control Center
14.Equipment & Supplies
15.Pre gathered Info
16.Key Messages.
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Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)
1.
2.
Cover page: include date, when it was written, & revision dates.
Introduction:
PR manager ghost writes it for the CEO.
To persuade employees to take the CCP seriously.
3. Acknowledgments:
Signed by all crisis personnel, & key executives;
Indicating that they have read the plan & are prepared to put it into
effect.
The signatures assure management that its personnel have read the
plan.
4.
Rehearsal dates:
Record of rehearsals for the crisis;
Crises should be practiced every 6 months or annually.
Always useful, although the eventual crisis may be different.
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5. Purpose & Objectives

Details the organizations policies towards its publics.
Say something like: In a crisis, an open & honest disclosure with the
media shall be stressed.
Respond to the Q: What do you hope to achieve with this plan ?
Example:
a) To be seen in the media as a company that cares about its customers
& employees.
b) To make certain that all communications are accurate.
6. List of Key Publics:
Must be comprehensive, Not every public needs to be notified n each
crisis.
Categories:
a) Enabling publics
c) Normative publics
b) Functional publics
d) Diffused publics
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7.
Notifying Publics
A system must be devised to reach each public.
Should be described in the plan:
How to reach BOD; how to reach internal publics.
First person who learns about the crisis notifies the CEO head of
PR head of department that may be involved.
News release, for example, is not for enabling publics.
What methods will be used in all of these.
8. Identifying the Crisis Communication Team

Crisis Communications team members (+ backups) should be preselected.
A Crisis Communications Manager (CCM), usually is the head of PR,
but not always.
Clarify all functions & responsibilities: Assistant CCM; CC Control
Room Coordinator; Other PR personnel.
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9. Crisis Directory
List of each member of the crisis team, key managers, key publics.
Complete with titles, home numbers, cell (mobile); fax, email,
vacation addresses, list of friends, neighbors.
Team must be large enough to get the job done, but not too large.
10. Identifying the Media Spokesperson
a) The media spokesperson must be selected carefully. Sometimes
several spokespersons.
b) Have some backups: 2 or 3 people as spokespersons.
c) CEO is effective spokesperson, but sometimes not for too-technical
matters.
d) University professors can also be called for specific knowledge
about technical aspects of a crisis & for credibility.
e) Usually not the head of PR.
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f) Spokesperson,
must be articulate, powerful enough to make decisions, accessible
throughout the crisis,
able to talk clearly in concise sound-bites, pleasant in front of the
camera.
g) Must be pre-trained, rehearsed, briefed prior to the crisis.
h) Must appear rational, cool, concerned, & empathetic.
i) Consult legal advisor before statements are made.
11. List of Emergency Personnel, Local Officials
If the crisis is a disaster or emergency, various emergency personnel
need to be contacted.
List of police, fire officials, hospitals, health department, utilities,
paramedics, government officials.
Sometimes also union officials, citizen groups, and key affected
community organizations.
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Crisis: The Components of CCP (Cont.)
12. List of Key Media

Must include complete media list: newspapers, TV, radio, in order of
importance.
13. Crisis Control Center
Location of the crisis communications control center must be determined in
case regular office is unavailable.
14. Equipment & Supplies
a) List of equipment, material, supplies needed by the crisis team,
media, and visiting publics.
b) Can include:
chairs, desks, computer, printers, telephones, battery, maps of plans
or crisis area, contact lists,
media directories, press kits, street maps, F&B, copying machine, first
aid kits, cameras.
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15. Pre gathered Information

a) Prepare & gather various documents that will possibly needed
during a crisis.
b) Have identical sets of documents in various locales to assure
availability.
c) Can be gathered in advance:
safety records & procedures, annual reports, photos, location of
branch offices,
fact sheets of company data such as numbers of employees,
products manufactured, market served.
d) Skeletal news releases can be prepared (in relevant with the type
of crisis).
e) [See Fearn-Banks Fig. 9.2, & 9.3 pages #242, 243]
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16. Key Messages

a) Messages must be tailored foe each public.
b) First statement made to each public sets the stage for the rest of the
crisis.
credibility.
c) Statement must be approved by top managers & lawyers, but must
be quick; not delayed.
d) Statements to all publics should include the nature of the crisis,
emergency, or accident.
e) It should include the 5 W + H.
f) Include, if known, what steps the organization will take to recover.
g) Show responsibility, but dont blame on others or speculate.
h) When final draft is completed, distribute it to all necessary
personnel.
i) The plan should be reviewed & updated at least every year.
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j)
The crisis communications team should

test each component of the plan.
k) Can be practiced in drill or
written/oral exam. exercise is crucial.
l) Spokespersons should be trained for
addressing the media, prior to any
crisis.
m) [See Fearn-Banks Appendix A, B & C]
Kathleen Fearn-Banks
Associate Professor, School
of Communications, Univ.
of Washington.
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Part2: Crisis Makers
Crisis: Types/Categories
a. Based of the attributions of crisis responsibilities

or the degree to which the organization is
perceived to be responsible for the crisis.
b. Increased attributions of crisis responsibility

generate stronger feelings of anger & low
reputational scores
c.
By identifying the crisis type,

the crisis manager can anticipate how much
responsibility stakeholders will
attribute to the organization at the onset of
the crisis;
thereby establishing the initial crisis
responsibility level.
Coombs & Holladay (2002)

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W. Timothy
Coombs Ph.D
Professor,
Advertising-Public
Relations, Univ. of
Central Florida
Sherry J. Holladay,
Ph.D
Professor, Nicholson
School of
Communication,
Univ. of Central
Florida, Orlando
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Crisis: Types/Categories (Cont.)
Based on the attributes of crisis

responsibilities
9 Basic Categories
a. Natural disasters,
b. Malevolence,
c. Technical breakdowns
d. Human breakdowns,
e. Challenges,
f. Mega-damage,
g. Organizational misdeeds,
h. Workplace violence,
i. Rumors.
5 Clusters
On the basis of the
organizational responsibility
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
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Rumors
Natural disasters
Malevolence
Accidents
Misdeeds
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Crisis: 3 Clusters
Situational Crisis Communication Theory

Taxonomies in relations to the response
13 Types
3 clusters with similar level of responsibility.
a. The victim cluster (4):
The organization is a victim,
Minimal responsibility.
3) Workplace violence,
1) Natural disaster,
4) Product tampering
2) Rumor,
b. The accidental cluster (3):
Unintentional (not intend to create crises),
Moderate responsibility.
1) Challenges,
Technical-error
2) accident,
3) product harm.
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Crisis: 3 Cluster (Cont.)
c. The preventable cluster (6):

Purposefully placing stakeholders at risk, or knowingly taking
inappropriate actions,
Or human error that could have been avoided.
Produce strong attributions of crisis responsibility
severe reputational
threat to an organization.
Human-error
1) accident,
2) product harm,
Organizational
3) misdeed with no injuries,
4) misdeed,
5) misdeed with injuries,
6) Management misconduct.
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Crisis: Rumor
Crises often begins with negative rumors.

1) Usually passed by word of mouth;
2) No verification facts,
3) No credible source.
Can be
a. Positive or negative.
b. Absolutely false, or partly false.
c. Undeniable true, or premature facts.
Expression:
There is a ring of truth in every rumor.
=> Because people know & believe that expression, they tend to
believe there is truth in rumors.
d. As in the childrens game: from child01whispers to child02.. to child10.
=> Becomes unrelated to the original message.
e. Can spread innocently, but can be malicious & intentional.
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Crisis: How Rumors Start
a. Victim rarely knows how a rumor

started, or who has heard it.
Makes it difficult to curtail its
spreading,
which happens quickly & often with
disastrous consequences.
b. Difficult to know the source:
Each person who passes it may
change it, &
contributing part of is source.
d. Example: CNN broadcasted news

about the Individual Retirement
Account (IRA) of McDonalds
employees:
Rumor went to Great Britain: that
McDonalds supported IRA (Irish
Republican Army)
members of parliament
received letters attacking
McDonalds for financing attacks
on British soldiers & civilians.
Ralph L. Rosnow, Ph.D.
Director, Doctoral
program, Social &
Organizational
Psychology, Temple Univ.
(1982-2001)
c. Ralph Rosnow : Those who

Believed the rumor, will pass it on,
Did not believe it, did not pass it
on.
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Rumor: Six Ways on How Rumors Spread
1. Reason: They are news, news with emotional

relationship to their lives.
2. Often plausible (believable, probable).
3. Often refers to something causing distress & fear;
hoping to relieve, by giving reasonable
explanation or denial.
4. Dr. Allan J. Kimmel: 229 college students spread
rumors on AIDS.
5. The more frightened the more likely to repeat.
6. In repeating:
People may find contrary facts that will calm
them.
But if the person you tell believes it, it can
escalate your fears.
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Dr. Allan J. Kimmel

Professor, Marketing,
ESCP Europe, Paris,
France.
S.23
Rumor: Six Types
1. Intentional Rumor: a restaurant is said to be owned or related to a

Celebrity.
2. Premature-Fact Rumor: layoffs rumor that eventually turn out to be a
fact.
3. Malicious Rumor: often started to damage competitors business.
4. Outrageous Rumor: is one that is so unbelievable that people say,
It has to be true.
Who would create such a story ?
=> K on Snapple Beverage Co. stands for Ku Klux Klan, not Kosher.
5. Nearly True Rumor: partly true then people believe all are true.
Eg. Reebok in apartheid era in South Africa.
6. Birthday Rumor: emerge over & over again, as it is as regular birthday.
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Rumor: Six Ways to Fight
1. When rumor seems to develop, spread accurate information that is

contradictory to the rumor.
2.
After rumor has circulated, analyze:

Its Origin
Why it occurred
What possible impact(s) it can generate
Will it go away
3. Do nothing: sometimes denial draws more attention than silence.

E.g. Gerber, baby food jar.
4. Deny publicly: prove it has no basis in truth.
5. Get outside expert to discredit the rumor.
6. Advertise: buy ads in high-circulation publications.
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References
1. Argenti, Paul A. (2007) Corporate Communication. 4th Edition Chapter 10,

McGraw-Hill.
2. Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (2002) Crisis Communications: A Casebook
Approach. 2nd Edition Chapter 3, Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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Course : Crisis Communication (1510CC07)
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Course : Crisis Communication (1510CC07)

LSPR eLearning Program

Session Topic : Crisis Communication Plan &

Course: Crisis Communication

Crisis Communication Plan

Part1: Crisis Communications Plan

CCP: Crisis Communications Plan

d. Generally CCP makes

Crisis: 16 Components of a CCP

10.Identifying the Media

Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)

Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)

5. Purpose & Objectives

Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)

8. Identifying the Crisis Communication Team

Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)

Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)

Crisis: The Components of CCP (Cont.)

12. List of Key Media

Crisis: 16 Components of CCP (Cont.)

15. Pre gathered Information

Crisis: The Components of CCP (Cont.)

16. Key Messages

Crisis: The Components of CCP (Cont.)

The crisis communications team should

Part2: Crisis Makers

a. Based of the attributions of crisis responsibilities

b. Increased attributions of crisis responsibility

By identifying the crisis type,

Coombs & Holladay (2002)

Crisis: Types/Categories (Cont.)

Based on the attributes of crisis

Situational Crisis Communication Theory

Crisis: 3 Cluster (Cont.)

c. The preventable cluster (6):

Crises often begins with negative rumors.

Crisis: How Rumors Start

a. Victim rarely knows how a rumor

d. Example: CNN broadcasted news

c. Ralph Rosnow : Those who

Rumor: Six Ways on How Rumors Spread

1. Reason: They are news, news with emotional

Dr. Allan J. Kimmel

Rumor: Six Types

1. Intentional Rumor: a restaurant is said to be owned or related to a

Rumor: Six Ways to Fight

1. When rumor seems to develop, spread accurate information that is

After rumor has circulated, analyze:

3. Do nothing: sometimes denial draws more attention than silence.

1. Argenti, Paul A. (2007) Corporate Communication. 4th Edition Chapter 10,

Course : Crisis Communication (1510CC07)

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