Leveraging Media to Win in a Crisis What Does ‘Winning’ Really Mean? It Means Not Losing Reputation or Business Presente

1. Leveraging Media to Win in a Crisis What Does ‘Winning’ Really Mean? It Means Not Losing Reputation or Business Presented by Dix & Eaton Washington, DC, June 2010 Sponsored by:

2. Overview: Two evolving trends that affect every crisis Success depends on how fast you can move You will need to make the media do their job Take the offensive, at least once, or cede control Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

3. Two Trends That Affect Every Crisis How media cover breaking news is changing, as they report it faster but with uncritical attention Worse, too often the media focus on the most salacious details, and not on the whole story Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

4. Two Trends That Affect Every Crisis Mainstream media remain hugely important as these drive much of the content for blogs which in turn drive much of the chatter on social networks The relationship among all these media genres is not symbiotic, but rather incestuous as each will “report” on what the others are saying about you Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

5. Two Trends That Affect Every Crisis Whether news breaks or spreads via social media, the story goes viral and global in minutes perhaps before you even know all the details So everyone may know “the story” but you must ensure it is correct right from the start or you will look defensive, which affects perceptions Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

6. Speed is the key to your success Create a two-page plan outlining for everyone who will be involved in the crisis response, what gets done and by whom on just the first day Parse out your actions in the first hour, e.g. assemble team, gather information, research coverage and more Add a one-page checklist to map your responses literally hour by hour in that first day to make sure you cover every conceivable contingency Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

7. Speed is the key to your success You need so much that first day and most of it better be done before you are tested by a crisis: Develop at least one corporate management blog Establish and use Twitter and Facebook accounts Create “dark” micro site for events on the web site Populate site, e.g. with an “FAQ” you can modularize Regularly prep spokespeople and those in front lines Periodically emphasize your company media policy Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

8. Speed is the key to success If you have these and more preparations in place, it should take you only minutes to get operational When a crisis does break, explain fast what you know, what you’re doing, then update and repeat Deliver messages across all possible channels including those you created well in advance Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

9. Make the news media do their job Media can make mistakes when reporting on breaking news but there is less or little concern now on ensuring factual accuracy in stories There is such pressure on every media to report immediately on what happened that in their rush, reporters may not even contact you for response Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

10. Make the news media do their job In fact, depending on the others involved in the situation, media may rarely or never call you at all Media hate admitting mistakes, but now they also may simply ignore corrected information Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

11. Make the news media do their job Public is already skeptical of media, so call out media over fresh or perpetuated inaccuracies. That means direct contact with media offenders but also wire distribution of a response outlining specific errors along with corrected information Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

12. Take the offensive, to take control News is too important to be left to media, as their sole motivation is to get the story, whatever that is At least once, consider holding a press briefing to update the situation and your response, correct errors in coverage and answer media questions Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

13. Take the offensive, to take control When all media have the same information, they are likely to get the story right – if not, offenders stand out – and coverage will be more neutral If a crisis is protracted, you must subsequently consider leveraging credible media, particularly the wire services, for one or more exclusives Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

14. Take the offensive, to take control Wire service articles serve as one story across numerous print, broadcast and online media – but now also for all the news aggregators That one story also serves to direct and drive future coverage from a wider number of media Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

15. New Rules of Engagement People care less about a reputation than whether it matches your actions when most needed Explaining what you know and what you’re doing are part of your most immediate messages Your response time now is a message that is as important as anything you actually say Mainstream media will analyze your response, which more than most stories shapes perception Some traditional rules always apply: be honest and transparent, think fast and move faster Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf

16. Contact information: Gary Wells Dix & Eaton 200 Public Square, Suite 1400 Cleveland, Ohio 44114 1 216 241 0405 gwells@dix-eaton.com Sponsored by: www.prnewsonline.com#mrf