A media crisis during a deal is compounded if no defined strategy is in place. If a company, brand, board or executive is under attack, understanding options and a strategy to cope are essential.
Advance preparation costs little, and takes little board time. Crisis management preparation should include conducting internal audits to compile a list of potential risks to the company; preparing a strategy to deal with each risk in conjunction with PR and legal teams; planning and preparing responses in advance and agreeing a hierarchy of command and lines of communication so that media enquiries will be referred to members of the team who are fully briefed.
Strategic deployment of legal and PR teams will depend on the nature of allegations against the company, whether they are private and confidential, whether true or false, and the extent to which the allegations are already in the public domain within the jurisdiction.
By communicating directly with the publication’s legal team, the lawyer can protect the reputation of the client as assertively as necessary. The communications team can deal with the editorial side.
Directors need to understand all available options to deal with the problem to reach an informed decision on strategy. Our role is to work alongside the individuals, boards and legal and communication teams involved in making these strategic decisions. By understanding the long-term objectives of the company and minimising the risk of emergencies we also seek to contain the risk of high legal bills during a crisis.