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Posts Tagged ‘issues management’

Anton Communications: Issues Management & Crisis Communications

August 12th, 2016

 

Issues Management & Crisis Communications: It is paramount that an organization emerges from a crisis with its message and reputation intact. We help you prepare for a crisis, and when it happens, we’re there to handle the media spotlight. We know how to work under deadline pressure and make smart decisions quickly.

We work closely with a client’s general counsel and law firms to anticipate and mitigate, potential media coverage of litigation, regulatory investigations, labor disputes, public protests and many other legal challenges.

We provide strategic communications support to legal counsel in support of their criminal and civil case objectives. Our services include:

  • Message strategy development
  • Case-related media relations
  • Communication and argument assessments

Litigation Communications:  We work closely with law firms or a client’s general counsel to provide strategic communications support at all stages of civil or criminal cases. We can help you develop strategic messages, assess the public response to legal arguments and communicate effectively with audiences outside the courtroom. We anticipate and mitigate potential media coverage of litigation, labor disputes, protests and other legal challenges.

How to Identify Risks to Your Business

January 20th, 2016

Almost every day, a crisis hits our nation, our businesses, our lives.

By understanding potential risks to your business and finding ways to minimize their impacts, you will help your business recover quickly if an incident occurs.

The types of risk vary from business to business, but preparing a risk management plan involves a common process. Your risk management plan should detail your strategy for dealing with risks specific to your business.

The following steps will help you get started with drafting your risk management plan.

• Think about your critical business activities, including your key services, resources and staff, and things that could affect them, such as power failures, staff changes and illness.

• Assessing your business will help you work out which aspects you couldn’t operate without.

• Ask yourself: when, where, why and how are risks likely to happen in your business? Are the risks internal or external? Who might be involved or affected if an incident happens?

• Ask yourself what if: You lost power supply? You had no access to the internet? Key documents were destroyed? Your premises were damaged or you were unable to access it? One of your best staff members or CEO quit? Your suppliers went out of business? The area your business is in suffered from a natural disaster? The services you need, such as roads and communications, were closed?

Are you prepared if a crisis strikes?

If you’re not sure, we can  help you create a crisis plan for your company.

Contact us today to find out how our crisis management training can help you be ready to save your company’s reputation!

crisisteam @ antonpr.com

News Media Do’s and Dont’s

December 15th, 2015

Never take a cold call from a reporter

Even if you know the topic cold and you feel you can handle the questioning, you need time to prepare yourself for the interview; you need to go into battle with a game plan.

Be prepared with a message

Research the situation, gather all the facts, develop key message, anticipate tough questions, practice your responses.

Don’t lie to the media

Never lie, mislead or manipulate the media. Don’t underestimate a reporter’s ability to find out the truth. You are never their only source of information.

Never say “no comment”

This is loaded word that to most people means you’re hiding something. If you plan to comment later, say so. Or politely tell them you are not going to answer that question.

Exude honesty and confidence; don’t appear defensive

Good interview preparation will allow you to speak with confidence. Control your emotions so that you neither attack or defend.

 Show empathy or compassion where appropriate

Particularly in crisis situations, emphasize that your first priority is taking care of the people involved, not pointing fingers or assigning blame.

 Do not speculate about the motives or opinions of others.

Reporters often do this to bait you into making antagonizing remarks about your adversary or competition. Politely tell reporters to ask them instead.

 Forget about “off the record”

This is not a legally binding agreement, but a technique the media uses to get sensitive information. The rules aren’t always clear and your protection relies entirely on the integrity of the reporter.

 Don’t joke or make wisecracks

Saying something in a joking manner never translates well in print, and sometimes not even on camera.

Remember, you don’t have to answer every question

  1. If you don’t know, say so: “I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll try to find out and get back to you.” Then do it. You don’t have to talk about your personal life, pending litigation or competitive information.

Crisis Management: Salvaging the Reputation of American Suzuki

March 5th, 2013

This post is part of a series on how good public relations can help businesses make a name for themselves, promote their products & services, land speaking engagements for executives, influence public opinion or handle crisis situations.

Challenge
When Suzuki entered the U.S. market in 1988, its Suzuki Samurai was tested by the staff at Consumer Reports, a trusted source of consumer advocacy. But when the magazine published its findings, the Samurai was rated a “Not Acceptable” safety hazard because it allegedly rolled over in turns. The cover story decimated sales and damaged the reputation of American Suzuki Motor Corp. and all of its new vehicles for years. Consumer Reports continued to exploit the Samurai evaluation over time for financial and promotional gain until 1996, when Suzuki filed a product disparagement lawsuit alleging that the testing was rigged and the magazine staff so biased that it force the vehicle to tip over and maliciously published the false results.

 

Solution

The public reputation of Consumer Reports was so high that Suzuki hired Gladstone International, a crisis management firm in Southern California. We were brought on as media consultants to help Suzuki present its case to the public, prepare for media challenges and provide compelling information about Suzuki’s side of the story. We produced a video with enhanced audio that revealed incriminating comments by Consumer Reports staff, a lengthy Q&A to prepare for media interviews and a 12-piece media kits. We coordinated a news conference in Washington D.C. when the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. And we engaged long-time Samurai owners and fan clubs to defend the vehicle’s safety record in a viral online campaign..

 

Results
Our efforts generated coverage from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times to the BBC and a special on CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes” where Suzuki’s general counsel appeared to challenge the publication. Although Suzuki settled the lawsuit in 2004, our efforts contributed to the restored reputation of the carmaker and media analysis showed media references to the Samurai as a dangerous vehicle virtually disappeared as a result.

Strategic Counseling: Opening a Healthy Dialogue at Laguna Woods Village

November 4th, 2012

This post is part of a series on how good public relations can help businesses make a name for themselves, promote their products & services, land speaking engagements for executives, influence public opinion or handle crisis situations.

 

 

Challenge: Anton Communications has been a consultant to the Golden Rain Foundation of Laguna Woods Village for the past two years. We have assisted with strategic messaging, strengthened community outreach efforts, provided advice on how to improve communications with residents, and worked with board members to handle difficult issues and personalities.

 

Action: We helped develop strategy for a Community Outreach Campaign associated with the issue of Staff Support Expenditures in an effort to answer specific questions and to allow all residents to voice their opinions.  Between October 31, 2007 and January 24, 2008, Anton Communications helped staff organize and analyze results of 32 resident meetings as well as additional feedback via mail e-mail and voicemail.

 

We conducted focus groups with residents on major issues confronting the community, and helped develop factual information sheets on them. We helped GRF become more proactive in disseminating information, addressing residents concerns and accusations, and expanding the scope of the communications venues available to the community.

 

We worked with directors to help directors track prevalent community concerns, evaluate the issues involved and provide timely responses. We provided guidance for managing public hearings through Robert’s Rules of Order and we drafted proposed rules of decorum for public hearings.

Crisis Communications Thumbnail

May 14th, 2012

Great article on handling a communications crisis by Abigail Kesner, a senior associate at SE2, a Colorado-based mass communications firm. I met Abigail earlier this month during a business trip to Denver. We discovered that both of us had worked for CNN, although not at the same time.

This section addresses a fundamental principal of crisis PR that companies sometimes forget:

“When responding to the media, be forthcoming, particularly with ‘bad’ news. You should deal with a crisis like you pull off a bandage: quickly. Suppressing information that will later come to light will jeopardize your relationship with the professional media and will ultimately be a negative. This is particularly true in today’s technology-driven 24-hour media cycle where not only traditional reporters, but also bloggers and citizen journalists will have access to distribution of information on a large scale.”

It’s a fast read and hits the mark!

http://ow.ly/aMzNl

 

 

Entitlement Battles: The Irvine Company

March 20th, 2012

This post is part of a series on how good public relations can help businesses make a name for themselves, promote their products & services, land speaking engagements for executives, influence public opinion or handle crisis situations.

Challenge: Anton Communications has been a consultant for The Irvine Company since 2000, working on entitlement and new community projects that include Turtle Rock, Shady Canyon, East Orange and the Northern Sphere near the Saddleback Mountains. New developments of this size are often difficult to entitle in California and require strong community support.

Action: We have assisted with community surveys and focus groups, participated in strategy meetings, organized supporters and speakers at local hearings and provided written copy for several publications designed to share information about the planned communities.

Results: All of these projects were ultimately approved with strong community support and sales have been brisk even in the most recent neighborhoods that opened during a downturn in the housing market nationwide.

 
 

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