Dani Grigg
Idaho Business Review
May 4, 2009

In 1992, the Las Vegas Hilton installed the world’s largest sign.

Their newly hired public relations director, Joanne Taylor, now of Boise-based Drake Cooper, was engaged in an elaborate song and dance to draw attention to this achievement.

So when the 200-foot-tall sign came crashing down on hotel grounds one evening, what Taylor had on her hands was a public relations crisis.

Reporters flocked to the scene.

The scenario could have played out a couple ways – one, the story could have been blown out of proportion as the media speculated on what had happened and why, or two, the correct story could have been told at the outset.

With careful crisis communications management, the second scenario was the one that carried.

As businesses face continued financial trouble with bankruptcies and other attention-grabbing problems popping up often, knowing how to communicate during a crisis can make or break a company in the public eye.

Back at the Hilton, Taylor said a few steps were key to averting a media catastrophe.

It was a lucky crash – the sign had fallen into the landscaped end of a parking lot, hurting no one and missing all cars.

“Certainly it would have turned into something different had people been hurt, but the strategy is the same – taking responsibility, assessing the situation, reporting what it is, being honest, designating a single spokesperson, setting up a central area for the media, giving a constant flow of information and being aware of media needs and deadlines,” Taylor said.

After the sign incident, the Las Vegas Hilton came to recognize the need to have a crisis communications plan in place.

Will Hart, former press secretary for now-retired Sen. Larry Craig, pointed out that a company or organization can’t plan for every potential disaster – “Plan B: Senator Craig Gets Arrested in a Minnesota Bathroom’ was not filed away in a drawer,” he said.

But Hart said there are principles – like coming to a communications team as early as possible – that can be carried through to each disaster.

Marc Johnson, president of Gallatin Public Affairs in Boise, said some guiding steps need to be written out in a clear format.

“You may not know and likely won’t know the specific details of a crisis. You can have an outline for how to begin to form a response – who needs to be notified, who needs to be in the decision-making group, who are your key advisers, how do we get the facts, how do we come to empathize about what’s going on,” he said. “Some of those things should be thought through, you should have it on a shelf, so to speak, so when a crisis occurs, you don’t have to make stuff up from scratch, and you have a road map to guide your response.”

An important part of having a plan is developing a culture in the company that makes it clear that in the event of a crisis, the company will be transparent and honest about what’s going on, Johnson said.

And companies should recognize that, especially in this internet culture, “you should never assume that it’s just going to go away,” he said. “You’ve got to manage the circumstances and take ownership of the problem, not expect that it will take care of itself.”

“In this day of the 140-character news cycle, people are out there spreading news quickly,” added Jeanette Duwe, president of Duwe Public Relations. “If they can’t get that information from you and your Web site – which I think should be the epicenter of all your crisis communications to the public – they’re going to go somewhere else, and it may be inaccurate and it could be full of half-truths and could create a larger panic.”

Taylor said another important effect of being open and honest about even an embarrassing situation – she sited the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal as an example – is earning the empathy of the public and the media.

“If you lose the empathy of the media, and they become aware right away that you’re not being forthright, then they’re going to work against you, and the story will continue,” she said.