Trial by Fire: Communicating in a Crisis

Trial by Fire: Communicating in a Crisis January 8, 2013 FPRA Volusia/Flagler Chapter Chris Gent, APR, CPRC Kissimmee Utility Authority

About KUA • Florida’s sixth largest municipal utility • Established in 1901 • 85-square mile service area • Serves 64,000 customers adjacent to Walt Disney World Resort • 325 employees; 2 in PR • Long history of dealing with crises • 3 hurricanes in 42 days in 2004, F4 tornado, two Amtrak collisions, wildfires, inventory/money thefts

“The most challenging part of crisis communication management is reacting - with the right response - quickly. This is because behavior always precedes communication.” - James E. Lukaszewski

The advent of social media changed the rules of reputation and crisis management overnight. The power of online media means that today's crises emerge at lightning speed, and spread further and faster than ever before. Source: Insignia Communications Consultancy

All organizations face crises.

Electric Substation • Part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system • Transforms voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or performs any of several other important functions • 230,000/69,000-volts • Cost: $12-15 million • 10 substations serving Kissimmee

Sunday, August 7, 2011 • Routine transformer maintenance at our Clay Street substation • Unit exploded at 9:14 am • Large fire destroyed transformer and four vehicles parked nearby • 1 contractor pronounced dead at the scene; 2 utility employees airlifted with severe burns • No power outages reported

Media Coverage inFirst 36 Hours • 41 articles/stories on the accident published by various print and online news organizations • 50 television stories, including CNN, NBC, Fox News • 17 radio stories • High interest among utilities nationwide

Challenges • It was a Sunday • Lack of detailed information • Community safety concerns • Environmental concerns • Co-worker concerns by employees • PR staff down to 1 individual who was 4 hours away • Utility CEO was on vacation in New York

What To Do First? • Identify your two most important audiences. • Write down the single most important message you need to communicate to each of these audiences. • Determine what methods you would employ to relay these messages.

Social Media Benefits • It’s fast, it’s cheap • It’s effective, it’s direct • Free research • Build loyalty • Demonstrate what you do • Over 50% have learned about breaking news via social media • 59.5% get their news from Facebook; 19.9% from Twitter; 12.7% from YouTube

Social Media Challenges • It’s fast • Sometimes inaccurate • Sometimes tough to hear • Time drain • Delay of return on investment • Customers are armed

Expectations • Not only are people using the web and social media for information in a crisis, but they have high expectations of emergency responders to do the same. • According to a Red Cross survey, Americans expect first responders to be listening. • 1 in 5 said they would try to contact responders through digital means.

Expectations • 69 percent said that emergency responders should be monitoring social media sites in order to quickly send help. • How quickly? Seventy-four percent said that they expected help to come less than an hour after their first Tweet or Facebook post.

What Consumers Want These are things consumers want during a crisis: • To know how they will be impacted. • Feeling like they’re heard. • Feeling like their opinion matters. • Feeling like someone will do something.

What We Do • Awareness • Monitoring, keeping tabs on social media • Set up and monitor keywords • Listening • Noticing, responding • Respond, both individually and more broadly • Transparency • Acknowledge there is a situation • Keep real-time updates flowing • Be honest and straightforward with details

What We Do • Feedback • Let them know they are being heard • Follow up • Resolution • Thank, outline solution, apologize if needed, reassure customers

Tools • Staff/community resources • News releases, media advisories, website • Press conferences • Flickr - stock images • Skype • Laptop, mi-fi or wi-finetwork card, smartphone • Camera

Communicator’s Role • Ensure that the quality of communications itself does not become the issue • Drive the communications process pro-actively rather than in a merely reactive manner • Maintain tight control over who speaks on behalf of the organization • Limit all media and public communications to one spokesperson wherever possible

Communicator’s Role • Utilize the public role of the CEO to the maximum benefit • Stay on message - brief key officials prior to any announcement and role-play all awkward questions to ensure consistency of messages • Demonstrate caring about people • Recognize public anxiety, don’t dismiss it

The Media • They are often the first to find out, even before you do • They report early and often • They can get your message out • They can warn the public • They decide early on in the crisis who is credible and who isn’t • If you try and shut them out, they’ll seek other sources – without the benefit of your perspective

Lessons Learned • Know your fellow PR colleagues • Have your contacts up to date • Have prepared tools such as organizational backgrounders, fact sheets • Identify key members, organize and train them • Establish and maintain clear, direct channels of communication with other organizations, agencies, stakeholders • Be visible, not hidden

Lessons Learned • Conduct regular scan of crisis • Track and measure public and media reaction • Shoot down rumors and misinformation • List of third-party references. Who will speak on our behalf? Who can help us defend or rebuild our name? • Practice and simulation.

Questions? Chris Gent, APR, CPRC Vice President of Corporate Communications Kissimmee Utility Authority 407-933-9836 cgent@kua.com @chrisgent

Trial by Fire: Communicating in a Crisis