Communications in a time of crisis

Years ago, I sat on a panel alongside a leading disaster communications expert – Donald Steel – and subsequently participated in his crisis communications workshop. What I learned was that no matter the size, scale and severity of the crisis, or the sector, the same principles apply. 

How an organisation deals with a crisis relies on the quality of its advance planning, appropriate messaging for audiences including stakeholders, identifying the best-trained media spokesperson, and managing communications protocols and processes. 

Crisis, what crisis?

Currently it feels as if we’re lurching from one crisis to another – from Covid, funding cuts and the cost-of-living crisis, to extreme weather incidents, protests and strikes, to the wrong kind of concrete, accusations of ‘wokeness’ and culture wars. 

And that’s not to mention issues such as stolen objects from museum collections or historical looting, past or current abuse, terrorism, toxic sponsors, even the death of a monarch… the list goes on. 

We’ve all witnessed negative rolling new stories when organisations have tried to cover up a crisis or handled it badly. There’s even a BBC Radio 4 podcast – When it Hits the Fan – in which former Editor of The Sun, David Yelland, and ex-Head of Communications to the Queen, Simon Lewis, discuss crisis communications through current PR disasters. 

How many of you had a Crisis Communications Plan pre-Covid? What did you learn from that experience and what would you do differently now? If you still haven’t got one, allow me to politely suggest you make it a priority. 

Putting the plan into action

There’s nothing like a crisis to find out whether your plan is fit for purpose. Abigail Scott Paul, Director of External Relations for LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture, recently found that out – in a positive way – when an outdoor performance had to be cancelled due to lightning strikes: “Each of our major events has a crisis comms plan identifying possible scenarios and setting out the process and methods of communication in a crisis or emergency situation.

“We plan messaging with names against tasks such as updating socials, emailing ticket bookers, and informing stakeholders. I am so proud of the comms team. They dealt with the situation calmly and smoothly, working to instructions from the command team and followed all the procedures. We got comms out quickly and effectively.”

Navigating complex narratives

Last year I was the press and comms lead for one of the ten commissions in the UNBOXED festival – Green Space Dark Skies, produced by Walk the Plank. I’ve worked on major festivals and events before, but none have received such bruising negative coverage from the outset from media and politicians on the left and right sides of the political divide. 

As just one commission we couldn’t change that narrative, so we focused on our own communication and most of the media coverage and social media engagement for our commission was positive. 

Background research, including talking to experts, helped us to better understand the underlying issues and complexities relating to working in designated National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We did not shy away from addressing some of those complex issues, such as light pollution and access to the countryside. 

In planning our crisis communications, we worked through every possible scenario (except the death of HM The Queen and the impact of a 10-day media blackout) with PR colleagues and partners in each nation for every stage of the project. 

This was no small task as we took thousands of people into remote rural landscapes at dusk – including the highest mountain in each of the four UK nations – to create light patterns in the landscape with new technology. 

Our relationships and regular liaison with our very dispersed team, including artists and numerous partners, were vital. Everyone felt prepared, understood communications protocols including decision-making processes, briefed their designated media spokespeople, and used consistent messaging tailored for different channels and audiences. 

It’s all in the planning

Rachael Harriott of Harriott Communications recommends whoever is responsible for PR should lead on all comms for the project – especially in a crisis – and ensure they are part of the risk planning process. “If there isn’t one, develop one and put in place a management process which relevant teams/people are aware of and signed up to.”

When a crisis hits, responding quickly, appropriately, accurately and with empathy is essential. Catharine Braithwaite, Lethal Communications says: “My assertion is that it is better to prepare and not have to use, than be unprepared and scrabbling around to gather the assets.” 

Delays in responding or rushing out inaccurate statements can potentially lead to damage to the integrity of your organisation and your brand.

Tools and templates

There are lots of crisis communications plan templates available online such as Helpful Digital and Hubspot, as well as useful lists and acronyms for your planning process – Control / Concerns / Clarity / Confidence / Competence / Calm – from Mind Tools, or PRIMER from the Government Communications Service – Plan / Rehearse / Implement / Maintain / Evaluate / Recover – to which I’d add ‘Renew’, in other words, update your plan following a crisis. 

I’ll leave the last word to Binita Walia, The Space inBetween PR: “Basically don’t panic – talk. If you don’t have a PR on hand to support you when things go pear-shaped, it’s imperative to first have conversations in the company and with a few appropriately experienced board members about what happens when things go wrong. Feel confident that you can trust us arts PRs to help when it hits the fan.” 

Helen Palmer is Director of Palmer Squared, a marketing, strategic communications and audience development consultancy. 
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