PCMA has launched a new guide for business event strategists on how to confidently handle communications around a crisis situation.
Today’s 24-hour news cycle means that opportunities for the wrong messages to leak out are ever-present, making communications planning an essential part of every event organizer’s role. The guide, which is based on a 15 point toolkit, focuses business event strategists on the impact poor communications can have on a crisis, or any stressful situation, and outlines the critical role a hard-working communications plan can play in upholding a brand or company’s reputation when things go wrong.
The actions the guide recommends are grouped in three phases:
- pre-crisis or day to day business strategic planning;
- during a crisis – who handles it and how;
- and post crisis – responsibilities, resources and recovery.
It stresses the importance of asking “what if…?” across the business, making sure that plans can respond adequately. The guide also addresses the importance of re-building a reputation post-crisis.
“We all need to think about resilience and reputation—the core of what any business needs to have—and how we build these to counter any threat,” said Sherrif Karamat, president and CEO, PCMA. “What happens at our events has a lasting effect on our brands. This guide helps prepare event organizers to ensure a positive and long-lasting brand reputation.”
The crisis communications guide will be distributed to PCMA’s extensive network of contacts throughout North America, Asia and EMEA. The full guide can also be downloaded from the PCMA website at pcma.org/crisis.
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