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Former Florida Senator Graham to serve on Gulf Coast oil spill panel: A lesson in crisis PR

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Wellons team

Former Fla. Sen. Bob Graham to head presidential oil spill panel

The Orlando Sentinel reported in its Sunday edition that President Obama has selected former Senator Bob Graham to lead a bi-partisan panel looking into the devastating oil spill. The spill threatens an untold number of industries including the Gulf of Mexico seafood and tourism.

The administration and oil giant BP have come under fire for their handling of the crisis. Graham was gracious in accepting the assignment. He gave a subtle lesson in media relations and crisis communications when talking to reporters over the weekend. He addressed questions frankly and honestly without casting aspersions.

Graham told the Orlando Sentinel: “I have been following it all, but I’m reticent to talk about any personal assessment because we are going to get to know a lot more over the next few months; I don’t want to pre-judge our conclusions.’’

The senator’s quote is well done. In one sentence Graham said he was educating himself, not going to get personal, open to solutions and will say more when the facts are in. Too bad not everyone involved is this crisis is as thoughtful with their public statements as the retired Senator.

Tiger Woods shoots at least a double bogey in Crisis PR

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Wellons team

Tiger Woods
Tiger Wood has shown the world he knows how to hit a golf ball.
But he has also shown the world that he – and all of his likely well-paid advisors – knows very little about crisis PR.

Did Tiger really think the recent crash and cover-up story would just go away? That the national media and the tabloids would turn a blind eye to his transgressions?

This race out the driveway in the family Cadillac and slam into a fire hydrant and tree was much more than one bad drive off the fairway. There was no escaping this fiasco. There were a ton of things that just did not add up, and even the most rookie reporter could smell a very hot story.

This crisis was completely of Tiger’s making. His team did not blast what is left of his reputation out of the sand trap fast enough.
Yes, it was a very sticky situation. But what crisis is not a very sticky situation?

Instead of getting out in front of the storm and admitting he was human and had made some mistakes, he and his advisors waited for this whole thing to blow into a gargantuan PR mess. They should have taken the appropriate steps and admitted between carefully crafted lines that the Tiger had roared in places where he should have been very quiet.

In the celebrity world of crisis PR, Tiger just shot at least a double bogey. The real score will not be known for days.

Crisis Communications: preparing to deal with Swine Flu

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Wellons team

We’ve all heard the swine flu warnings, but what have you done to prepare your business to deal with a possible outbreak of swine flu? Do you have a public relations plan in place? Take this simple quiz to measure your readiness. Are you:

A. Crossing your fingers and hoping that you won’t be affected?
B. Buying some of these anti-swine flu suits from Japan? (looks great, kills germs!)
C. Coming up with a comprehensive plan to deal with a worst-case scenario?

We developed a comprehensive public relations and employee relations plan for a client who wants to be ready. Their crisis communications plan includes:

• Paying for flu shots for their employees
• Educating employees on symptoms to look for
• Implementing CDC guidelines on dealing with sick employees
• Coordinating an operating plan in case of a major outbreak
• Preparing to deal with media inquiries

So far the impacts of swine flu have been isolated, but major outbreaks are a real possibility.

What will you do if one of your employees is diagnosed with swine flu? If you don’t deal with the public, your only responsibility is to your employees. Will you tell them “Bob’s under the weather,” or will you be up front and tell your employees what they need to know? Do you have a business continuity plan in place? Are you ready to stagger shifts or allow people to work from home?

If you deal with the public, you have another set of concerns. Do you let them know that some of your employees have swine flu? Do you close for a few days for disinfecting? Sure, you’ll lose some revenue, but you have to weigh that against the implications of infecting some of your customers?

What will you tell the media? There’s the phone call you dread. Or worse – the TV station live truck parks out front at 4:30 pm.

There’s no one-plan-fits-for-everyone solution. What everyone has in common is that they need a plan in place – before it’s too late.

Besides, those Japanese suits cost $650 and they don’t even make them for women.