When rebuilding a brand in the wake of a crisis, utilising public relations can be an effective tool. It can get you back on track and on the road to where you want to be.
PR is used for a myriad of things, from a hands-off consultative approach to a hands-on approach of steadying and course correction. Whatever is needed, having your PR teams fully embedded at a time of crisis and rebuild is incredibly important.
And this is why…
1. House in Order
The first step to repairing post-crisis is to stop, take stock and assess ‘the damage.’ Having clear insight and understanding as to what has happened, how and why will form the basis of everything else that follows.
Situational awareness and having some kind of ‘radio silence’ is also important at this stage. If a crisis has broken, it’s advisable to reel in all of your external comms to prevent any additional compounding. It’s not good to see an ill-timed, or previously scheduled social media post is posted and scuppers your efforts.
2. Strategise
Rushing headlong into a crisis management scenario never works out. These are formative moments, and your response will shape the future perception of your brand.
Work alongside your PR. You need to envision the rebuild roadmap, with a clear end goal and the steps needed to get there. Strategise on your statements, public response, individual responses (if that’s needed) and if there are media involved your PR will play a key role in liaising.
3. Media Management
From a media management perspective, there’s a long game to be played here. Particularly if you’re coming from a position where your brand was once positively received and perceived within the media.
Because opting to keep the media in the dark on a crisis, can have negative effects in both the short and long term.
In the short term, you have the issue of a story growing in a vacuum. Without your side of a story being told, things can very quickly become one-sided and from a brand management point of view ‘no comment’ is never a positive look.
In the long-term maintaining positive relations with key media - be it trade, regional or national - is another area where your PR can really show their quality.
It might be difficult in the moment, but when you’re rebuilding a brand it’s crucial to retain positive relations within a media landscape. You’re going to need those individuals and outlets again further down the line.
4. Stakeholder Management
Depending on the nature of a reputational rebuild, there may be some element of stakeholder engagement required.
This could range from direct to customer engagement, suppliers or even company employees and what is important to recognise is, each comes with its own strategy and nuance. Just as they would with media, your PR can guide you through the process of stakeholder management.
Two Final Points
The points we’ve discussed here are strategic and operational approaches towards a crisis management and brand rebuild. These are tools of the trade for any PR. But what’s more important than any of this, is how a business approaches this kind of situation.
You need to:
Be visible
Remaining visible during a reputational rebuild is so important. Shying away and hiding from a problem is only going to cause more issues in the long run.
Own It
If you’ve done something wrong, own it. There’s nothing more unappealing than business that cannot own up to its own mistakes and misgivings.
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