HOW TO MANAGE A PUBLIC RELATIONS CRISIS

A crisis is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of a company. Public relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding, support and influencing opinion and behaviour. There have been several examples of public relations crises that were handled. At the same time, there are even more instances where companies have failed to properly manage crisis situations. What can, and must be managed is the response. Each crisis situation is unique and, therefore, requires a tailored response.This article presents some examples from each category. As a result, some steps that should be executed in order to properly manage a crisis, including the necessity to create a crisis plan before a crisis actually occurs. Finally will be presented ways to survive a public relations crisis.