Crisis Rehab - when and how agency

In the wake of a crisis, many managers fall prey to PCSD: Post-Crisis Stress Disorder. Symptoms include hiding away and ignoring the issues, total denial, and Pollyanna’ish happy talk. It’s as though everyone believes the crisis will magically go away. It doesn’t. And the damage to a brand’s reputation can be almost impossible to overcome.

This is a time to understand that not all crises are bad. Sometimes a crisis is just the wake up call your brand needed. At When + How, we believe dealing with the aftermath of a crisis is even more critical than your immediate response. We have developed a 12-step program to help brands weather a crisis and emerge stronger and wiser:

The 12-step program

1. Admit your brand’s mistakes. It’s the first step to moving past them.
2. Embrace urgency and take immediate steps to rehabilitate your brand.
3. Believe that the power to change is in your hands because … it is. You may be a victim of bad press, consumer hysteria, rumormongering, or lousy timing but you are not helpless.
4. Bring in a third-party specialist to analyze communications strategies. This is a time when you really need an outside, objective, dispassionate perspective.
5. Believe that a higher “purpose-driven brand” is critical to success. If you can’t articulate what your brand stands for, there’s a good chance no one else in your company can either.
6. Embrace internal change and make a corporate commitment to next steps.
7. Take a communications/marketing inventory. You may want to rethink or postpone some of the initiatives you have in the pipeline.
8. Fix external corporate messaging. This is an opportunity to redefine your brand. When + How excels at this kind of strategic rebranding.
9. Evaluate and address systemic issues that create crises. An outside perspective like ours can be especially helpful here.
10. Train managers in your company to spot and address crisis triggers. This training is included in When + How’s crisis rehab program.
11. Build scenarios for potential future crises and work out strategies to prevent or defuse them. This exercise is integral to When + How’s Crisis Rehab.
12. Don’t let a crisis hold you back. Respond to opportunities in real time, as they arise. Look to the future.
Whether you are in the throes of a crisis or have just weathered one, When + How can help get you back on track.

Adele is one of the foremost crisis communication experts in her field. I turn to her often for her analysis and perspective for the Crisis of the Week column.

Ben Dipietro, Wall Street Journal Editor

We went from a crisis to an opportunity within weeks — thanks to Adele Cehrs’ strategic thinking and process. She turned a crisis into an opportunity and our organization stayed on the right side of history. I highly recommend her.

Richard Yep, CEO

Adele took an online crisis from a major issue and made it into a whisper.

Victor L. Velazquez, COO, DC Bar Association

Adele was very successful in working with our CEO and division presidents to explain a complex topic to the public quickly and efficiently. She is not only fast — she’s smart. She uses real-time data as a basis for her recommendations. I’d hire When + How on any communications project I have and I recommend you do the same.

Keith Little, Director, Lockheed Martin

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PUT YOUR BRAND THROUGH CRISIS REHAB

The 12-step program

VP JOE BIDEN’S CALL TO CURE CANCER

PROTECTING RIGHTS, CHANGING MINDS

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