Crisis CommunicationPR Emergencies

Avoiding Misinformation & PanicDan Young, CEO Young’s Jersey Dairy

Chief Ice Cream Dipper

Young’s History

Potential for a Crisis

• If you deal with people, you are vulnerable

• Your fault, their fault, act of God, terrorist, unknown, it doesn’t matter– Robbery, former Staff, former Guest, FBI, fire,

accident, injury ?????? » It can and it will happen at some level,

someday

Chronology of Our FBI

• 9:50 AM December 10, 2002– Call from local health

department

• December 13, 2002– Removed milk from sale

• December 17, 2002– Media aware– Circus - new level for 30 days– Cooperation, history, safety of

Guests highest priority, facts as we know them

HeadlinesYoung’s Dairy Focus on Illness InquiryHuman Action Suspected in Salmonella

IllnessesSalmonella Reported in Clark CountySalmonella Outbreak Didn’t Begin at

Young’sLiterally dozens of broadcast stories

– Front page, leading stories• Dayton, Springfield, Columbus, Cincinnati +

Regulatory Fun• Clark County Combined Health

Department• (of which I was and am a board member)

• Ohio Department of Agriculture• Federal Food & Drug Administration• Center for Disease Control• Homeland Security

What to Do -- Plan

• You Better Have a Plan– How are you going to react?– How to keep track of information?– Who’s talking?

• One & only one official– How to talk to Staff?– Relationship with Public Agencies– Relationship with Community– Relationship with Media– Relationship with Community

Leaders– Suppliers, Investors, Banks– Legal, Insurance

It’s Showtime! All the Time!

What to Do – This is It

• It’s all there is– A crisis is all consuming to your

time. All of It.– Be ready to devote the time needed

• No whining – no one cares!

– 100% of your efforts and the organization’s efforts go to getting to the ‘end of the story’

– What do you want people to say about you a year from now?

“We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.” — Herb Kelleher

What to Do -- Communicate• Communicate to Everyone, Everyday, about

Everything– Always tell the truth

• Get your story out first & often• Trust yourself to do the right thing

– Your Staff have to know first and most– Community Leaders & Partners

• Email list – daily updates

– Media– Legal & Insurance

• Advice – listen, but do the right thing

– Public Agencies– Keeping track of events

Media Trials•Local media reporters are not experts

•They only know they have heard from you and others

•If you don’t tell your story, they will“You are the lead story. My editor has given me 90 seconds for this story.”•Understand the media cycle

•Study it with others & learn

Media Cycle•Fast & furious

•Looking for facts

•Your opportunity to tell your story

•Be ready when they are

•Today, in addition to email list

•Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/…

•Blog

•Insincerity/lying = You’re Dead

“It is no use saying ‘We are doing our best.’ You have

got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” —WSC

What to Do -- Rehabilitation

• Develop a Plan for Rehabilitation– What to do to regain your business?

• No more, ever• Food safety training• Shiny, bright, spotless, new• Careful, focused marketing• Don’t be afraid to talk about it• Be visible & accessible

Recovery Plan

• Community Involvement– Say it loud & often

• Create one on one opportunities– Win every one back, one

Guest at a time– That’s how you take care of

Guests in the first place!– Creating word of mouth that

everything is ‘OK’ • Use the same media that

brought the bad news – that’s where they learned of it

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like

irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, former Chief of Staff,

U. S. Army