Role of PR During Crisis

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CRISIS

MANAGEMENT


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Crisis can affect all segments of Society

Crisis

Business &

Govt.

Educationalinstitutions

Family


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INTRODUCTION Crisis management includes the development of

plans to reduce the risk of a crisis occurring and todeal with any crises that do arise, and the

implementation of these plans so as to minimizethe impact of crises and assist the organization torecover from them. Crisis situations may occur as aresult of external factors such as the developmentof a new product by a competitoror internal

factors such as a product failure or faulty decisionmaking, and often involve the need to make quick

decisions.


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TYPES OF CRISIS1. On the Basis of Social Settings:2. Domestic Crisis

3. Industrial Crisis4. Natural Crisis5. Professional Crisis6. Social Crisis

7. Financial Crisis


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IMPORTANCE OF PRDevelops Good relations with customers.

Helps to Build and create reputation and

image of the company.

Maintains Companys Credibility.

Bridges Communication Gap.

PR is essential for a successful business


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Three main stages of Crisis

Stages

Pre Crisis

CrisisResponse

PostCrisis


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Pre Crisis Phase The pre-crisis phase is concerned with prevention and

preparation.

Prevention involves seeking to reduce known risks thatcould lead to a crisis. This is part of an Organizationsrisk management program.

Preparation involves creating the crisis

management Plan, selecting and training the crisismanagement team, and conducting exercises to testthe Crisis management plan and crisis managementteam.


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Crisis Response The crisis response is what management does and says

after the crisis hits.

Public relations plays a critical role in thecrisis response by helping to develop the messages thatare sent to various publics.

A great deal of research has examined the crisis

response. That research has been divided into twosections:

(1) The initial crisis response and

(2) Reputation repair and behavioral intentions


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Post Crisis PhaseIn the post-crisis phase, the

organization is returningtobusiness as usual. The crisis is nolonger the focal point of

managements attention but stillrequires some attention.


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Examples of Crisis Management Odwalla

Exxon Cadbury


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Odwalla (pronounced "odewalla") is the health-

conscious juice company which began a couple ofdecades ago when Greg Stelt enpohl, Gerry Percyand Bonnie Bassett began squeezing fresh orangeson a $200 hand juicer. The company was growing

strongly with annual sales rising 30% per year andapproaching $90m. The company had establisheda strong brand with enormous customer loyalty.

Case study Odwalla


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Case study

Odwalla Odwalla juice e-coil outbreak in 1996

Health officials in Washington state informed the

company that they had discovered a link betweenseveral cases of E.coil 0157:H7 andOdwalla fresh applejuice.


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Case study

OdwallaOne child died and more than 60 people in

theWestern United States and Canada

became sick after drinking the juice. Salesplummeted by 90%,Odwalla's stock pricefell 34%.

Customers filed more than 20 personal-injury lawsuits and the company looked asthough it could well be destroyed.


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What Did the Company DO ? Odwalla's CEO Stephen Williamson ordered a

complete recall of all products containing apple or

carrot juice. This recall covered around 4,600 retailoutlets in 7 states.

On all media interviews, Williamson expressedsympathy and regret for all those affected and

immediately promised that the company wouldpay all medical costs.


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What Did the Company DO ? Internal communications:-

Williamson conducted regular company-wideconference calls on a daily basis, giving employees the

chance to ask questions and get the latest information.This approach proved so popular that the practice ofquarterly calls survived the crisis.

External communications:-

Within 24 hours, the company had an explanatoryweb site (its first) that received 20,000 hits in 48hours. All possible attempts were made to provide upto the minute, accurate information.


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Fixing the PROBLEM The next step was to tackle the problem of contamination.

The company switched from unpasteurized juice to aprocess called "flash pasteurization" which would

guarantee that E-coli had been destroyed withoutcompromising flavour.

Within months of the outbreak, the company had in placewhat some experts described as "the most comprehensive

quality control and safety system in the fresh juiceindustry.

The new process was communicated in all advertising andpublic outreach campaigns.


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Conclusion The company's values spoke of nourishing people and

when the crisis came it was an adherence to honest,straight talking and accepting responsibility that helped toget the company through.

There are critics who refuse to credit the company with anyintegrity whatsoever - but even these will concede that asan exercise in crisis management, Odwalla stands as anexample of best practice that few can match.

The year after the crisis, Odwalla was voted "Best BrandName in the Bay Area" by San Francisco Magazine. This

was the first indication amongst many that Odwalla'sreputation had survived.

Role of PR During Crisis

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