Zimmerman_PRCrisis.pdf__________________

Mock PR Crisis

1. Navigating a PR Crisis
Luke Zimmerman

2. What Crisis Occurred?
•What is the Event?
•Chelsea FC Community Fundraiser
•What goes wrong?
•A food tent collapses injuring 5 people,
including 1 child
•Assess the seriousness of injuries
•Should the event be canceled?

3. Impact on Organization’s Reputation
•Immediate Implications
•Is everyone safe?
•Will the event continue?
•Are other buildings and tents
safe?
•How will crowd be informed of
the situation?
•Long Term Implications
•Will people ever want to
attend future events?
•Will there be any lawsuits?
•Will foundation events have to
be postponed?
•How will people/families
involved be compensated?

4. Who will speak for
the organization?
Laura Cordingley –Chief Executive of the
Chelsea Foundation

5. Target Audiences
Who will need
assurances for
future events?
Event Sponsors Parents & Children
Community Partners Foundation
Employees

6. What is the message?
•Everyone involved is safe
•The foundation is looking into what exactly caused the incident
•Talk about the next steps
•Discuss with employees what could be done better in the future to
mitigate risks
•Vow to the public that an accident like this will never happen
again

7. Response Strategies
•Build an incident response plan
•Use an incident response
framework
•Follow the six phases of incident
response
•Keep lines of communication open
•Train response personnel
•Continually evaluate processes

8. Apology News Letter & Video

9. Internal Communications &
Tools
•Intranet website & app
•Internal Newsletters
•Collaboration Tools
•Community Channels
•News/Leadership Center

10. External Communications &
Tools
•Social Media
•Email
•Newsletters
•Live Events & Conferences
•Press Releases
•Website Content

11. Conclusion
•Repair any damaged relationships with fans/corporate partners
•Show how much you care by vowing to make proper changes
•Showcase how any structures will be properly inspected
•Showcase proper employee training
•People love immediate action
•People will respect an organization that admits their faults

12. References
•Ademola-Shanu, W. (2023, September 26). External communication –definition, types, Examples & Tips for Building Your External
Communication Plan. Scribe. https://scribehow.com/library/external-communication-examples
•The Best Internal & External Communications –Everything You Need To Know. OCM Solution. (2023, October 20).
https://www.ocmsolution.com/internal-and-external-communication/
•Cassetto, O. (2023, February 7). Incident response plan 101: How to build on. Exabeam. https://www.exabeam.com/incident-response/incident-
response-plan/
•Chelsea FC Foundation. European Football for Development Network. (2023, December 18). https://www.efdn.org/blog/member/chelsea-fc-
foundation/
•Chelsea Foundation. Homepage. (n.d.). https://www.chelseafc.com/en/chelsea-foundation
•Club, C. F. (2024, April 24). Chelsea Football Club on linkedin: #wearechelsea#playyourpart: 47 comments. Chelsea Football Club on LinkedIn:
#wearechelsea#playyourpart| 47 comments. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chelsea-football-club_wearechelsea-playyourpart-activity-
7188826039911882752-cSYD?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
•Herman, M. (n.d.). 20 internal communication tools your company should have. LumApps. https://www.lumapps.com/internal-
communication/workplace-internal-communication-tools/
•Kolodgy, C. (2024, January 16). 13 incident response best practices for your organization: TechTarget. Security.
https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Incident-response-best-practices-for-your-organization
•Pepper, T. (2022, January 4). 10 best tools for internal communication. Pepper Content. https://www.peppercontent.io/blog/tools-for-internal-
communication/