Crisis Communications Management

Can you control a crisis? No - but with adequate preparation you can control the reputational consequences. Reputational damage is rarely caused by the crisis itself but, instead, by what the organisation does and says under the media spotlight.

This PRCA Practice Guide describes how to invest in readiness and what to do when a crisis strikes. Coverage includes contingency planning, stakeholder identification, crisis communications policy, spokesperson training, the ’Red Book’, dark sites, rehearsals and simulations, locations and resources, taking the initiative, and managing the aftermath. The book also covers in detail the role of the mainstream and online media, recommending steps to neutralise hostility and shut down ill-informed comment.

Including numerous real-life examples, discussion topics and advice from PR experts, journalists and editors, Crisis Communications Management is intended as an essential guide for public relations professionals, and the people who work with them during a crisis, on how to navigate the turmoil and emerge from a crisis with reputation and credibility intact.

Adrian Wheeler is a crisis communications consultant. He is also a non-executive with four public relations agencies, and works as a PR and media trainer. Previously, he co-founded Sterling Public Relations which was acquired by Grey Advertising, where he became CEO of GCI UK and chairman of GCI Europe. He was also chairman of the PRCA 1999-2000 and chairman of the CIPR’s Professional Practices Committee 2008-2012. In 2010 he was awarded the Sir Stephen Tallents Medal. He is the author of Purchasing Public Relations for the PRCA and editor of Best Business Advice.