Originally published October 2021. Updated June 2026.
A brand can be confusing, complicated, or plain chaotic about its tone of voice or messaging. It then becomes necessary to bring its range of offerings into focus and gain control over how the brand is perceived by consumers. Managing perception helps customers make sense of a multifaceted organization. It also drives marketing efficiency and performance. As customers become progressively more restless and demand more from brands, Public Relations should help reshape brands and the way they engage customers across various touchpoints. With brands vulnerable to a diverse range of unexpected threats, any crisis can have a damaging effect on customer acquisition, loyalty, and revenue. Since by nature a crisis is unpredictable, a crisis communication strategy is necessary to prevent escalation. Essential components of such a strategy follow.
1) Planning — The aim of planning is to keep a company alive in order to preserve its reputation, save jobs, and maintain the company's capacity to operate. There might be a world of difference in the types of crises a company faces, but it is likely that the communication response will follow broadly similar lines whatever the crisis.
The planning process outlines the procedures that will produce effective communication during the crisis, and clearly identifies all areas of responsibility. For instance, it would be wise to choose a strong communicator as a brand's spokesperson during a crisis. A capable communicator can make the company appear more human and the mistakes appear more controllable.
2) The communication process — The communication process consists of a clearly mapped program detailing the actions that need to be taken and when, and a series of post-event milestones listing what action should be taken and at what time. The plan will differ according to the specific nature of each industry. If there have been casualties, the priority will be to communicate with the immediate family and to start a telephone hotline to allow relatives to find out the latest news. Even if there are rational reasons for delays, it will not reflect well on the company. Any strategy should be proactive and put the company in control of events rather than reacting to them.
For instance, during the London bombings of 2005, the Transport for London (TfL) press office — which was at the centre of the response to the world's media — won the Crisis Communications category in the CIPR Excellence Awards for the way it dealt with the situation. When they heard of the bombings, the TfL press office implemented a well-rehearsed crisis communication plan. Within 20 minutes of first hearing about the disaster, six TfL press officers arrived in pairs at three Tube stations impacted by the bombs to manage the media on site. Before 11 a.m., the press office had responded to more than 200 interview requests from the world's media. In just one day the press team had received 2,000 telephone calls.
3) Post-crisis evaluation — The crisis PR strategy should also include a truthful and critical analysis of what happened during the crisis. It should evaluate how the communications team responded, what was effective and what wasn't, and any other lessons that can be learned. The aim should be to learn from prior experience.
Written by
EPR Editorial Team
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
