Does your crisis communication plan include how to respond to the death of Queen Elizabeth?
That morbid and unsettling question was probably not what you expected to read about in our blog.
And, as far as we are aware, the Queen is in good health despite her recent covid scare.
But this question was raised by a member of The Media Team Academy - our year-long learning and development programme designed specifically for media and comms professionals.
And it is a crucial issue to address.
We know there are extensive plans covering what will happen in the days after the Queen dies.
Operation London Bridge - as it is codenamed - incudes details on everything from how the news would be announced to the public to managing crowds gathering in London and how the royal family’s, and Government, social media accounts will respond.
Details of the plans have slowly leaked over time, and, as you might expect, they go into granular detail.
The secret plan after the Queen dies https://t.co/EbjhaSIlrN
— The Independent (@Independent) March 1, 2022
Yet how many brands or organisations have communication plans in place for this eventuality? I know, from my time working in the police, that some public sector organisations have planned for when the day comes.
But beyond that, I’m not sure.
When you think about it, however, we should all have plans in place because the days and hours after the news emerges is not the time to be making these decisions.
Would you, for example, decide to postpone your social media and marketing activity and opt for a dignified silence.
If so, how long should you remain quiet? To put that question in some context, Operation London Bridge covers 10 days after the death of the Queen.
Or, would you decide to post about the Queen? If that sounds a better approach, how will you ensure you don’t find your brand being accused of insensitivity, tokenism or trying to make money from her death?
How would you find the right tone? How would your audience feel about the death of The Queen?
Do you have stories you could tell in time about visits made by the Queen to your organsisation?
Is it more pertinent for a company with a Royal Warrant to pay tribute on social media than those without?
Lots of questions and, for once with one of our crisis communication training blogs, not that many answers. Perhaps understandably.
The last time a monarch died was 1952 – a very different time. Many of us will remember when Diana died in 1997, the internet was in its infancy, and there was no social media.
The most recent comparison is the death of the Duke of Edinburgh last year. Many organisations took to social media to share their condolences, and some websites changed their branding to adopt a more sombre tone.
But it is also worth remembering the BBC received more than 100,000 complaints about the level of coverage given to his death. The decision to clear the schedules saw it become the most complained about piece of programming in the BBC’s history. An indication that not everyone wanted an extended period of mourning and that there was a desire for alternative content.
More than 110,000 people have complained to the BBC about the coverage of Prince Philip, according to a report in the @guardian https://t.co/1iOKtDHxJR
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) April 12, 2021
Organisations will need to work out answers to these questions for themselves. It will involve an element of guesswork, gut feeling and listening.
But what we do know is it is far better to think about how you will respond now rather than having to rush these decisions in the moment. Public sector organisations and the Government should not be the only ones with comprehensive plans.
The question from The Media Team Academy member also got us thinking about what else organisations should include in their crisis communication plans at the moment.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now. So, we put our thinking caps on at Media First towers and came up with these six types of crises we believe you must consider in your plans.
Russia
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominates the news agenda.
And it has put companies with activities in Russia under scrutiny. Apple, Nike, Ikea, Mastercard and American Express are among those who have paused or cancelled their services or operations in the country.
Meanwhile, Shell initially defended its decision to buy Russian crude oil after the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hit out at the energy company, asking on social media: "Doesn't Russian oil smell (like) Ukrainian blood for you?" The energy giant has subsequently apologised and pledged to stop buying oil from Russia.
McDonald’s and Coca-Cola were facing boycott calls until they joined the list of firms halting business in Russia this week.
McDonald's to temporarily close its 850 stores in Russia https://t.co/6msJtJB8Az
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 8, 2022
Even perceived links can be problematic with Compare the Meerkats stating that its meerkats “are fictional characters” and that “they have no association with Russia and the current situation.”
Financial
Money is on everyone’s minds. Prices are soaring, and many face a cost-of-living crisis.
Brands are facing questions about how customers can afford their goods and services, particularly when they are essential items, such as power, fuel and food.
And there are warnings of worse to come.
Additionally, businesses are still in a covid recovery period, so ‘financial crises’ could also include brands considering plant or office closure and redundancies.
And we are never too far away from a ‘fat cat’ boss story, particularly damaging when employees and customers need to tighten those belts that bit more.
Personnel
This is a crisis caused by the actions of employees - and it is something we have seen more of in recent years.
And it often centres on social media - an employee posts something offensive on social media that could potentially damage the reputation of the brand. For example, the estate agent Savills spent time in the spotlight last year, trending on Twitter and making uncomfortable headlines, after a Tweet containing racist language emerged that appeared to have been sent from the account of one of its employees.
The actions of bosses have also been the cause of several reputational crises in the past year. Few of us, for example, had heard of Better.com until its boss Vishal Garg decided to sack 900 people in a brutal three-minute Zoom call, and the footage was shared widely online.
We also saw Bill Michael, the then UK boss of KPMG, initially step aside, pending an investigation, and then resign over comments he made during a staff Zoom meeting last year.
He told consultants during the virtual meeting to "stop moaning" about the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on people's lives, and to stop "playing the victim card".
He also went on to say that the concept of unconscious bias was “total crap”.
Natural
Well, you don’t have to search too far to find an example of a natural crisis - covid has changed so much of lives over the past two years, including how we work.
Many businesses moved almost overnight to remote working, and others had to find ways of ensuring they tried to keep staff safe.
Other examples of natural crises include extreme weather. Britain was recently battered by strong winds after being hit by successive storms, that damaged buildings, brought down trees and resulted in flying debris.
Organisations had to consider whether it was safe for employees to travel to work and carry out their roles.
And sometimes brands get it wrong with weather. Amazon made headlines in the US after its drivers were told to keep working despite tornado warning sirens going off.
Data breach/online services collapsing
We live in a digital age, and many organisations are increasingly reliant on digital communication and services.
But, at the same time, there is an increasing risk to data security and online services.
A Gov.uk survey reveals that four in ten businesses and more than a quarter of charities reported having cyber security attacks or breaches in the past year. Of those businesses and charities, one in five said they ended up losing money, data or other assets.
A separate survey has shown that 44 per cent of consumers in the UK claim they will stop spending with a business for several months in the immediate aftermath of a security breach, and 41 per cent of consumers claim they will never return to a business post-breach.
Despite the risks, many brands are slow to respond to data breaches and online services being unavailable, causing further reputational damage.
A crisis we often refer to during our crisis communication training is the TSB IT fiasco. This was triggered by an attempt to move to a new IT system. That left thousands of customers unable to access their accounts, while others reported they could access other people’s details.
At one point, the Daily Mail suggested TSB stood for Totally Shambolic Bank.
Wednesday’s Daily Mail: Totally Shambolic Bank #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/JYWNU2mhjl
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) April 24, 2018
And the IT issues went on sporadically for months. Not only was the failure hugely costly, but it also saw Paul Pester forced to stand down as chief executive.
Social media/marketing
We’ve already looked at why you should consider your employee’s social media activity in your crisis plans.
But what about corporate social media activity, adverts or other marketing material?
Brands don’t always get their promotion right.
Burger King, for example, marked International Women’s Day last year by posting that “Women belong in the kitchen”. A move that quickly saw it issue an apology as the tweet triggered a social media storm and developed into a crisis media management incident.
Ovo Energy found itself in hot water after advising customers feeling the impact of rising energy prices to keep warm by doing star jumps and cuddling pets.
You may also remember we highlighted last week how an American fast-food chain faced a backlash after its TV advert was shown alongside footage from Ukraine.
And to bring this blog back where it started – death – Homebase memorably once issued a tweet promoting its stores while using a hashtag people were using to discuss the death of the singer Prince. It said: “Good morning everyone, happy Friday. If you need our assistance we’re here until 8pm today, get tweeting. Have a good day! #RIPPRINCE”.
What have we missed? We’d love to hear from you if you think we should add something to this list or if you have communication plans for the death of Queen Elizabeth. Email hello@mediafirst.co.uk.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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