Crisis

Putting you in control of your crisis

The challenge of preparing for and responding to crises is in creating and maintaining a clear message while speaking to multiple stakeholders. Successful crises preparation and handling is not just about what you say to the media. It takes thorough planning and robust and considered strategic counsel and means engagement with a range of potential audiences including customers, influential online groups and bloggers, politicians and regulators, shareholders, NGOs, analysts and internal audiences.

Increasingly, when a crisis happens, digital comment spreads like wildfire across the world. MHP has the tools and services which offer companies in crisis the opportunity to employ greater control over the depth and breadth of information available regarding their business and its issues, and to who and when that information is disseminated.

To keep control of a crisis also requires genuine cross-discipline and sector expertise, something that MHP was created to offer. Our team of experts not only deliver considered industry leading response and counsel to existing and future clients, but also have unrivalled experience of preparing your business for any future crisis; through stakeholder mapping, scenario planning and crisis communications manuals. Our team has prepared and advised a wide range of individuals and organisations in crisis from multinationals to Government and infrastructure across all sectors of business.

Email crisis@mhpc.com for more information or call 020 3128 8100.

If you require an emergency response call our Crisis Line on 020 3128 6999.

Stakeholder & Issues Mapping: A stakeholder and issues map will provide a clear view of relevant stakeholder audiences and the most effective ways of interaction with them. It will also help to determine the key influencers and decision-makers and prioritise the appropriate timeline of communications with those groups.

Scenario Planning & Messaging: Scenario Planning explores the different reputational scenarios your company could face and reviews the communication procedures in place to ensure continuity and protection.

For each scenario identified, top level messaging would be developed to assist the company’s official response in the first instance and longer term sustained response to repair damaged reputations.

Communications Manual: A Communications Manual details the communication activities (people and process) which a company should follow when a crisis is about to break or as it breaks. The manual covers personnel roles and responsibilities, escalation processes and draft materials for press distribution to ensure a swift and considered response to every crisis.

Crisis Simulations: Simulations feature an escalating scenario where the issue and momentum build throughout the day. It allows companies to train for and role play their most feared crises to ensure that operational systems in place are fit for purpose and staff know their roles and responsibilities. We replicate the intensity of media requests and scrutiny as well as other stakeholder reactions such as Government pressure and truly stress test the company’s crisis response function and spokesperson(s) ability.

Media training: The media can make or break reputations and in a crisis situation there is a strong possibility that your executives are going to have to be interviewed. Our team of former national newspaper journalists will train your team to face the full force of the media with confidence.

Digital Monitoring and Response: Any organisation, company or brand that does not keep one eye on the online world is ignoring a crucially important and ever evolving platform. MHP can monitor the internet on behalf of clients, responding as appropriate to neuter potential crises before they happen. Specific services include creating and managing social media feeds and pages, emergency blogs and blogger outreach.

Digital crisis control: Everyone wants as much control as possible in a crisis. MHP is continually developing on digital tools that can help you to control the flow and range of information available in a crisis. These tools can also help to speed up the dissemination of information to stakeholders

24/7/365 Crisis Line: Crises can occur at any corner of the globe at any time of the day or night – and you need to respond immediately. That means you need support and counsel that you can call on. Our crisis line will put you directly in touch with a member of our senior crisis team at any time.