Crisis communications

Every organisation is vulnerable to a crisis, but it’s how you respond that defines you. As a crisis communications and reputation management agency, at ADPR we have the know-how to enable you to stay one step ahead of the game and ensure a quick and appropriate response is delivered.

Crises and reputation management issues come in all shapes and sizes. Whether it is as a result of internal developments, changes to the working environment or a serious incident, making the wrong decision can have a seriously damaging effect on a company’s brand. Having a balanced and timely communication plan is always essential. Hoping the issue will go away is simply not an option!

We can help navigate your business through any crisis or reputation management situation. We will help take the pressure from you and guide you through handling the situation effectively. We will do this by advising on strategy, helping to minimise reputational damage and building and implementing an effective response programme from media management to employee engagement. Of course, crises do not usually unfold during standard operating hours, so as a crisis communications agency we offer 24/7 monitoring and consultancy support to coordinate communications activity across all key stakeholders. We also have the tools to monitor online sources and track any issues that arise so that they can be dealt with immediately. Ensuring social media interactions are managed properly and criticism is responded to is key to handling online reputation management.

As well as reactive crisis management, we can also help you build a robust crisis management plan to be prepared in dealing with any situation effectively. This includes an analysis of the risk of a crisis to your business, who to assemble as your communications team, identifying spokespeople and communication methods and messaging. You might think you will never experience a crisis, but having a proactive plan in place anyway will ensure you can deal with any situation quickly and effectively.

Alongside our crisis communications and reputation management services, we also specialise in training how to handle hostile journalists and diffusing potential issues. The specific elements of our training are discussed and agreed prior to the sessions, but typically include key functions of a crisis management team, the role of media, implementing a plan effectively, tools to support the team and training of spokespeople to handle tough questions in a challenging situation under the glare of the cameras.

Crisis planning and reputation management requires strong leadership and effective implementation, but when done well it will safeguard the value of your brand.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking a crisis or reputation management issue won’t affect your business. Usually it boils down to things like financial issues, negative social media comments, technology failures, customer complaints and HR matters. With 70% of smaller companies going out of business within one year of experiencing a crisis, now is exactly the right time to think about protecting your company from future risk. You are just one click away from giving yourself long term peace of mind with our Crisis Management Success service. We promise it will be worth it! The Department of Commerce states that 70% of smaller companies go out of business within just one year of experiencing a crisis - we think this is enough of a reason to be prepared! Our Crisis PR 101 guide will give you the tools you need to develop a crisis plan that will protect your business when a crisis strikes.