72 Hours

Rarely A Week Goes By When We’re Not In 72 Hour Mode. It’s The Unfortunate Nature Of Accidents, Poor Judgement Or Acts Of Nature Beyond Our Control.

Getting Out in Front of It

If you feel like the environment, in which crises surface, socialize, fester and gain a mob mentality, is increasingly difficult to predict, we understand your concern. Everything has changed. Access to information is abundant. Channels are almost ubiquitous. Speed of distribution…uncontrollable. Public sentiment is polarizing and no brand can afford to lose half of their audience. Our experience tells us that the most effective way to minimize a crisis is to get out in front of it…immediately. How an organization handles a situation in the first 72 hours has enormous impact on public, industry, partner and employee reaction.

Situations We’ve Managed

Crisis Scenarios

  • Financial Crisis
  • Executive Misrepresentation
  • Management Upheaval
  • Data Breach
  • Law Suits
  • Retail Boycotting | Protests
  • Retail Homicides | Robbery
  • Environmental Disaster
  • Health Scares
  • Racial Adversity
  • Customer Service Backlash
  • Child Molestation Claims
  • Health Score Fallout
  • Recalls
  • Management | Employee
  • Misbehavior
  • Social Media Miscues
  • Safety Record Violations

Crisis Management

  • Develop and Execute Extensive Crisis Preparedness Plans
  • Create and Refine Messaging In Lock Step with Legal
  • Create and Manage 24/7 Crisis Hotline for Clients
  • Media Train Executives in Nationally Charged Environments
  • Manage National Incidents That Affect The Entire Supply Chain
  • Facilitate Ground Zero Crisis Scenarios
  • Support Employee Communications
  • Develop Post-Crisis Reputation Strategies

72 Hour Drill

0-12 hours

Crisis Surfaces. From the initial moment of a crisis, we know that at least one person knows. Awareness. There are a number of ways 
to learn about a crisis – external, internal, instigator. Leadership. Someone within an organization should already be identified to assume crisis management. If that person does not exist in your organization, identify them now. Then get them prepared. Team. Based on the circumstances, put on alert the small team (2-4 people) who should be a part of the crisis management. Fact Gathering. Identify the circle of awareness outside the crisis management team. Begin to fact gather.

13-24 Hours

Fact Gathering. Dig deeper on fact gathering without alerting new audiences. Six simple questions — Who, What, When, Where, How and Why? Self-Monitoring. Crisis team must begin to track news and social activity without alerting any additional resources. Team Touchbase. Crisis team regroups to assess critical next steps based on early fact gathering. Key Decisions. Decide when to elevate it to management. Determine if outside crisis counsel is warranted.

25-36 Hours

Fact Gathering. Continue fact gathering as most crises have history, precedence or a lack of full disclosure. Self-Monitoring. Keep a confidential summary Dropbox password protected file/folder of what you find. Expanded Community. Alert CEO or comparable management. Keep the community small. Outside Counsel. Move forward with decision to bring in outside counsel.

37-48 Hours

Fact Gathering and Self-Monitoring. Continue on both fronts. Internal Assessment. Crisis team must gut check internal rumblings to assess if there is any leak. Team Touchbase. Crisis team leadership meets with outside counsel. Outside Counsel. While it’s a quick turnaround, expect insight and recommendations within 12 hours.

49-60 Hours

Outside Monitoring. Outside counsel takes over media and social media monitoring. Interviewing. Key people involved must be interviewed. This process could extend the entire effort. Statements.  Several statements must be prepared – media, employee, key constituents and Q&A. Rehearsal. Key spokesperson must review and rehearse statements and Q&A.

61-72 Hours

Team Touchbase. Decide best mediums to communicate, assuming you decide to communicate at all Actions. Some crises can be addressed and managed without an external release of information. Ongoing Monitoring. It’s best to remain on alert for a week or so following an incident. Policy Change. Determine if the incident could have been avoided or if the organization, better prepared.