Protect Your Brand During A Media Crisis
As appears on the Healthwell Exchange
April, 2001

by Jeff Hilton, Integrated Marketing Group

In case you haven't noticed, the media's love affair with supplements is officially over. It has been for some time. When DSHEA was enacted, the dietary supplement industry became the "darling" of the national press. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Now the media consistently try to "one-up" the next guy with supplement horror stories that erode consumer trust and confidence.

Recently, U.S. News & World Report, L.A. Times, Dateline, and The Today Show to name just a few, have written or aired negative stories on dietary supplements. With headlines like “Dietary Supplements Can Be Bad Medicine” and “Herbs Can Kill,” the media is taking a tougher and more "investigative" stance on supplements.

In the current climate, it is not difficult to imagine waking up one morning and discovering that the brand you’ve worked long and hard to develop has been devastated or seriously compromised because of a scathing media story. As the likelihood of being faced with a media crisis communications issue increases and threatens to damage your brand image, keep the following points in mind:

1. Be Prepared-In Advance. Many executives talk about being prepared for a crisis but do little more than create a listing of key home and cellular phone numbers. It takes a serious commitment of resources and time to truly be ready for a communications emergency. Calling a PR consultant when the company is already waist-deep in a crisis is about six months too late.

An excellent starting point for preparing a tangible crisis communications plan is an experienced consultant. Look for someone who deals with the media on a daily basis and understands how a crisis situation develops. Ask the prospective consultant to submit case histories of crisis situations he or she has managed.

2. Listen Very Carefully. Managing a crisis situation begins simply with listening. It’s easy to carry a chip on your shoulder when it comes to really hearing criticism of your company or brand from the media. But it’s important to listen carefully and not automatically discount that feedback. Often those comments will grow into a full-blown issue if ignored. Be sure you completely understand the specific points of criticism before you respond and begin taking steps to manage the situation.

3. Be Empathetic. Recognize that most crisis situations involve human feelings and emotions needing acknowledgment during the response process. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with the criticism; it just means you need to respect it. Most companies that don’t manage a crisis well fall down in this area. Remember, your brand won’t get much empathy from the public if it is perceived as only a self-concerned, profit-driven entity.

4. Don’t Forget Your Employees. During a crisis, it’s easy to forget one of your brand’s most important publics—employees. Don’t. These people are the faces and voices behind your brand. They speak to an endless number of customers, vendors and target publics. Make sure employees hear from management during a crisis instead of receiving second-hand information through the media.

5. Never Say ‘No Comment’ Or Ignore The Media. Executives that say ‘no comment’ to the media may as well confess wrongdoing (or at least stupidity). Generally the media and consequently the public will assume they are guilty as charged or are trying to hide the truth. Studies have shown that 38 percent of the public assumes large companies accused of a wrongdoing actually committed the act. That figure increases to nearly 60 percent when the company ignores or refuses to talk to the media.

6. Remember the Internet. Often, crisis communications situations begin brewing on the Internet before companies even know about them. With chat rooms and home-spun web page consumer advocates now a dime-a-dozen, crises can grow exponentially via the Internet. Today, any crisis communications plan must include an Internet monitoring and response component.

Developing and putting together an effective crisis communications program can be a time consuming, daunting task. However, with proper planning, thought and management’s total commitment, a brand can be protected when the media love affair crumbles and a crisis situation rears its unforgiving head.