How to Handle Sticky PR Situations

Over the past year, we have seen multiple major corporations and pop culture icons caught in situations requiring crisis public relations. With companies such as Toyota and BP dealing with the losses of hundreds of billions of dollars, the stakes can be high when making decisions about how to handle these situations.

At the end of August, the New York Times published an article explaining what not to do when it comes to crisis communication. Below are some tips on how to successfully handle a sticky public relations situation.

-Disclose the story immediately, including the details that may be damaging.
When companies deny the situation occurred, or do not fess up to their actions, the public and media tend to make their own conclusions, thus making it harder for the company to take the blame later. The quicker you make it right, the faster it goes away. Senior Vice President of Ketchum Public Relations, James Donnelly says it best with, “Companies that typically handle crises well, you never hear about them.” If there are no damaging headlines for the press to publish, there is no bad press.

-Do not make excuses or provide misleading information.
An example of this could be seen with BP when they made the statement on how many barrels of oil were being dumped into the ocean, and it blew up in their face when scientists reported that it was nearly 5 times as much. It makes the company look even worse when it looks like they have been lying to their publics. Making the crisis seem less than it actually is can come off as insensitive and irresponsible.

-Be sincere in what you say.
BP’s CEO Tony Hayward made the public forget his whole press conference after he confessed, “There’s no one who wants this thing over more than I do, I’d like my life back.” This statement makes him seem like he is tired of dealing with the situation and doesn’t really care about the families affected by the explosion. You want to sympathize with your publics, not try to make them sympathize with you.

-Keep it simple.
Even if nothing could be done to make it better, just present the facts and deal with the impact because there is a lot to be said that could make the situation worse. Sometimes the best fix is just to take the fall and get back to business, as can be seen in the most recognized example of crisis communication with Tylenol in 1982. They promptly acknowledged the problem and pulled their product off the shelves.

Even in your personal life, it is important to take responsibility for your actions and avoid blaming it on someone else. Avoiding the situation can often lead to a damaged reputation and loss of credibility. Everyone makes mistakes, how we deal with them is what matters.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Emily Ascani.