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Crisis Communications Agency

We can all learn from our mistakes.

In a digital world where bad news spreads like wildfire, brands have to work twice as hard to maintain a positive public sentiment. Add a global pandemic and increased social consciousness to the mix and we need to work three times as hard. Public perception can turn on a dime, and as a crisis communications agency, it’s our job to stop this in its tracks – or avoid PR crises altogether.

A PR crisis can happen for any number of reasons. It could be an act of God or a human error – from manufacturing faults to unethical executive behaviour. We help you plan for, navigate and recover from a PR crisis – and take learnings forward for a solid future. 

Your brand is only as strong as your public perception.

We have seen time and again some of the world’s largest brands making the biggest mistakes. From Susan Boyle’s unfortunate hashtag to Protein World’s ‘Beach Body Ready’ campaign, things can go wrong. Sometimes, it’s an error of judgement, whereas other times, many facets of the business are at play.

Our crisis management strategy starts before the crisis – training your communications teams in how to respond to the press without incriminating the brand. We’ll work with you to draft press releases, social media messaging and policy amendments that will drive change within the company. We’ll also monitor your brand sentiment around the clock to show you where changes should be made.

Why Smoking Gun?

Smoking Gun has a team of earned media pros, former national news editors and award-winning journalists who are adept at shaping the outcomes of any potential crisis. We’re well versed in both handling a crisis and also preparing for one, having managed crises and issues for high-profile brands and organisations.

Our well-established relationships with the media and deep understanding of what they want, the angles they may take and what off-the-record conversations could result in the story even being spiked or at least ensure it is balanced, factual and includes all the key messages we recommend.

Brand Recovery:

We see crisis PR as an opportunity to do better – the best organisations acknowledge their mistakes and commit to making real changes as evidenced in company culture and communicated via sincere content marketing campaigns. For more information about our brand recovery work please click HERE.

Our crisis PR strategy starts before a crisis has even happened

Crisis Management Plans

Developing a crisis management plan which includes risk analysis of potential crises, escalation process, crisis team and chain of command, scenario planning, Q&A responses, spokespeople and communication channels

1

Training

Training your senior team / comms representatives on how to handle a crisis, from the language to use, when to respond and when to move on. This practical session would be conducted as if in a live situation with our head of media – a former Sun journalist, conducting the interviews.

2

Fire Drills

Fire Drill training sessions for the crisis comms team to ensure the crisis plan is fit for purpose, everyone is clear on their roles and responsibilities and test speed of response.

3

Pro-Active Monitoring

Pro-active monitoring for potential crises via social listening tools. If a crisis does occur, then we will respond quickly to minimise the impact, using the crisis communication plan as our collective guide.

4

Live Crisis Support

Our senior team will be available at all times should a crisis arise (charged at an hourly rate). Statements will be drafted immediately based on the current position. All media calls are logged and responded to in a live document whilst all crisis-related coverage is tracked and shared with you each morning before 9.00 am

5

Brand Recovery

After successfully navigating the storm of a crisis, our dedicated team goes beyond resolution, focusing on comprehensive brand recovery. We strategise and implement measures to rebuild trust, restore reputation, and position your brand for a resilient and positive future in the aftermath of adversity

6

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