15 May 2018 by Steph Gray
Simulations and exercises are our bread and butter. It’s great to rehearse in a safe space, to test out crisis plans and teamworking before the real thing happens. But crises don’t come neatly diarised, in well-equipped conference rooms, so simulations can only be one element of your crisis preparedness efforts.…
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16 March 2018 by Tim Lloyd
Podcaster Dave Musson from The Native talks to Helpful Managing Director Steph Gray about crisis communications including: why speed isn’t everything in responding to a crisis online, how some organisations achieve a better sense of empathy than others, and what the big issues could be on the horizon, including Brexit,…
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5 January 2018 by Steph Gray
Following the soap opera of a crisis on social media, blow-by-blow, saps leaders' time and focus and prevents them stepping back to consider the bigger picture.
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21 December 2017 by Kate Rawlins
It’s the eve before Christmas leave, and the emails are starting to go quiet. Looking back over all of our files last night, we’ve facilitated some exciting projects during 2017. But all in all, there have been some memorable moments across the board when it comes to observing participant reactions during…
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24 March 2017 by Kate Rawlins
It was my colleague who first broke the news to me. “Apparently there’s been shots fired outside parliament,” he said. As much as I live and breathe social media, a few tweets reporting loud noises wasn’t enough for me. The ex-reporter in me believes in verification. Then the BBC notification…
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5 October 2015 by Steph Gray
We’ve run dozens of crisis simulations with communications teams large and small, from global multinationals to local city emergency responders. Here’s what we’ve found sets the great teams apart from the rest: 1. They’re quick to the first response Social media doesn’t wait patiently for you to clear your lines…
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12 August 2015 by Tim Lloyd
Imagine being faced with hundreds of different voices and personalities online, all complaining about your product or service. You can’t see these people, only what they write or film. They’re unaccountable and uncaring and, as far as they are concerned, you are just a faceless organisation. This is just a…
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28 May 2015 by Chris Malpass
Brands large and small, and across all sectors, are making increasingly prominent use of digital channels as part of their promotional marketing campaigns. And so they should: social media offers a direct line of communication with stakeholders not afforded by more traditional channels; allowing more creative and compelling content than…
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9 March 2015 by Tim Lloyd
The idea is straightforward enough: a dark site is a website you prepare (but don’t promote) in advance of a crisis as an alternative or fallback to your corporate website, containing the background information you need to share with media and stakeholders. One of the most talked-about examples belongs to BP, launched…
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5 February 2015 by Steph Gray
In conversation with a government client recently, we touched on the challenge of getting messages out during a crisis. “Our audience is on Facebook,” he said “but we know that Facebook is making it harder to reach that audience with posts on our corporate pages unless we pay to boost those posts.…
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