1. Preparing for Crises Today: The “Whys” and “Hows” of the Crisis Communication Plane W. Timothy Coombs Professor Texas A&M University Timothy.Coombs@tamu.edu

2. Preview Changing nature of crises Crisis communication plan Are you prepared? Developing a plan

3. Changing Nature of Crises Zombies as a metaphor

5. Zombies Share Desire for flesh, especially brains Differ Zombification process Strategy

7. Classical Operational focus Concern for public safety and welfare (focus on stakeholders) Basic elements of crisis management – Crisis management plan – Containment efforts – Responses

8. Ankara, Turkey Six Killed, need to Evacuate

9. Modern (Reputation or Social Media Crisis) Reputation emphasis Focus on the organization not stakeholder

10. Crises Shared Pose threat to organization and/or stakeholders Differ Difficulty in identifying Difficulty in responding

11. The Crisis Communication Plan Value What it is Digital Crisis Team

12. Crisis Communication Plan (CCP) Not magic insurance policy Not step-by-step guide About 60% of major corporations have them

13. CCP Value Saves time in response – Pre-collect information – Pre-assign tasks Save lives, reduce exposure, and aid remedial action

14. Crisis Communication Plan Short and useable Contact information Pre-written messages Reminders to document

15. CCP contact information Crisis Management Team Contact Secondary Contacts

16. Crisis Appendix Precollected information Templates for communications Past crisis knowledge

17. Responding to a Reputational Threat

18. The Response Should the organization address the reputational threat? (Does it matter?) – Is it lingering – Is it spreading – Is it legitimate Does the organization need to make changes or to defend its actions?

19. Do not forget Digital

20. Digital/Internet Link from home or separate page Dark site Stealth blogs (pre-prepared messages) – Same for Twitter

21. Integration Digital channels linked – Web site is core (most information) – Other channels link to web site – Adapt the message to the social media channel 140 characters Twitter Facebook post verses a blog

22. Crisis Team SelectionTraining

23. Are You Prepared?

24. Readiness Quiz Do you have a document(s) that assesses your crisis risks? – If yes, when was the last time it was revised? – Is it comprehensive/integrated or a set of separate documents?

25. Readiness Quiz Do you have a system for scanning for crisis threats? – If yes, do you identify specific red flags associated with crises? Do you have a risk review committee that meets regularly?

26. Readiness Quiz Do you have a crisis management plan? – If yes, when was the last time it was revised? – If yes, have you ever tested it?

27. Readiness Quiz Do you have a social media plan? Is there a connection between your crisis management plan and social media plan?

28. Readiness Quiz Do you have a crisis team? – If yes, was the crisis team given any training? – If yes, when was the last training exercise?

29. Developing a Plan … and More

30. Developing a Plan What are your major risks? – Types of crises – Warning signs & Monitoring Who needs to be involved? – Inside the organization – Outside experts What channels are we using?

31. CCP is not Enough False sense of security Just a rough guide A Living document Must be tested