Crisis Communications - Always Be Prepared
Last week, the media outlets in Denver reported that a well-known corporate leader was arrested for drunk driving. That, in and of itself, is enough to give any corporate communications person nightmares, but in this case, the person is also the head of a very well-known beer manufacturer...both he and the company carry the same name — Coors.
Nightmares, migraines and ulcers.
This example, however, serves as an excellent example of good crisis communications. When the story broke, Mr. Coors immediately issued a statement: "I made a mistake by driving myself home after a friend's wedding celebration," he said.
His statement continued, "For years I've advocated the responsible use of our company's products. That's still my message and our company's message, and it's the right message. I am sorry that I didn't follow it myself."
Obviously, this was a very embarrassing situation and many people would have wanted to hide their heads in the sand and hope the issue went away. However, Coors - and hopefully his communications staff - realized the importance of responding immediately to the situation. He didn't evade the issue. He addressed it quickly and most importantly, with an apology. In essence, it said that he was a human who made mistakes - just like everyone else. People can relate to that and forgive it. If he had made up excuses, or if it had appeared that because of "who" he was, he was treated differently by the police, a public uproar could have ensued and the story would have grown and grown.
Amazingly, the arrest took place in May and the story didn't reach the media until July when he was arraigned. However, in all likelihood, the statement Coors issued was probably written the day after the arrest so it could be made public when necessary. In this situation, various scenarios were probably developed, with different responses, depending on how the story was reported - and more importantly, what background information was included in the story. If there had been other incidences of arrests, either by Coors, his family or other senior management, they might have been included in the story. As it was, one newspaper mentioned that he was a one-time political candidate and mentioned that a leader of his political party had disclosed that he had several DUI arrests - and he was then interviewed for the story. No one is safe when a story like this breaks and it's wise to be prepared for everything.
Companies should take a proactive approach to crisis management planning. No matter what their size or type of business, they should have a crisis management team in place and procedures for dealing with a crisis - whether it's a CEO's arrest, corporate scandal, layoffs, injuries, etc., etc. While it's impossible to plan for all situations, any situation can be dealt with if there is a foundation to build upon, rather than starting from scratch.
When developing your crisis communications plan, policies and procedures are crucial. It can be an intimidating process - but it doesn’t have to be. If you'd like help developing your program, we'd be pleased to arrange a no-obligation meeting at your convenience.