Crisis-Response Statements Are Never Like Garanimals
By Hinda Mitchell for PR News
Founded in 1972, Garanimals is a clothing line for children. At its outset, Garanimals offered a mix-and-match way of combining kids’ shirts and pants just by matching the tags.
Garanimals came to mind after spotting a recent essay that contained recommendations for crafting a PR crisis response statement. It suggested mixing and matching phrases and words from a pre-set matrix. It was a Garanimals approach to writing–and it’s terrible advice.
By far the most important element of a good crisis response statement is authenticity. Encouraging communicators to follow a pick one from column A, one from column B, one from column C approach is not only poor PR practice, it’s irresponsible.
A thoughtful, meaningful response during a PR crisis requires a deft touch, relevant experience and a clear understanding of critical audiences.
It’s a strategy borne out of years of communication knowledge and a swift, thoughtful and thorough analysis of the crisis at hand. There simply is no one-size-fits-all way to do this.
Tone matters
A strong, written crisis message is heartfelt and genuine. It doesn’t come from a catalog of words and phrases.
Instead, it comes from the ability to distill information quickly, to determine who audiences for the message are, to consider the facts of the situation and how they could influence the response.
In addition the crisis pro must anticipate what’s ahead, such as litigation or regulatory action, and how the crisis might evolve. And only then can a communicator make smart decisions about crafting the right response. For more, click here.