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MILESTONE 1: Crisis Communication Evaluation Draft Instructions Submit the crisis topic that you have selected for your final project. Specifically, identify the organization whose crisis communication strategy you are planning to evaluate. Briefly describe an actual crisis that the organization has encountered, and provide some initial thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization's communication strategy. Crisis Topic: Taco Bell's "seasoned beef" meat filling lawsuit (2011) Organization: Taco Bell Resources on Situation: https://www.businessinsider.com/pr-disasters-crisis-management-2011-5#not-all-fiascos-end-so-well-10 https://www.npr.org/2011/01/25/133218485/Taco-Bell-Faces-Lawsuit-Over-Seasoned-Beef https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/04/22/135539926/with-lawsuit-over-taco-bells-mystery-meat-is-a-mystery-no-longer https://www.throughlinegroup.com/2011/04/22/taco-bells-great-crisis-management/ https://crenshawcomm.com/thanks-for-suing-us-taco-bell-takes-on-beef-gate/ OTHER RESOURCES: Textbook: The Handbook of Crisis Communication Introduction and Chapters 1, 2, and 3 Video: Situational Crisis Communication Theory Attached Files h a n d s o n HOW-TO ADVICE FOR PRACTITIONERS >crisis management Social media in crisis communication: Start witii a driil By Gerald Baron and Dr. Jolm "Pat" Philbm,APR When the wildfires raged through Southern California in October, thou- sands heard the latest news on evacua- tions and conditions via Twitter. When Hurricane [ke devastated Galveston, people received a continuous stream of he^idlines from an on-the-scene reporter viaTwitter. When US Airways Flight 1549 splashed into the Hudson River, the ñrst photo the world saw of it caine through Twitter. After a major event, the first news will often come through social media — particularly the platforms focused on instant distribution such as blogs and microblogs. Twitter is one ofthe latest social media phenomena to attract the interest of communicators and public affairs pro- fessionaLs. This microbloi^ing tool fol- lows blogs, social networking sites (MySpace and Facebook),photo and video sharing sites (Flickr andYouTube) and topic discussion sites (I )igg and Newsvine). At a November 2008 con- ference for government communicators in Washington, D.C, organized by strate- gy and technology consulting firm liooz Allen Hamilton, FEM A introduced its newYouTube channel. Michael Dumlao of Booz Allen Hamilton mentioned three organizations he sees as "champions of social media"— the Los Angeles Fire Department, the American Red Cross and the U.S. Coa.st Guard. The Coast Guard has been a ^ r e s - sively employing social media tools to distribute public information,including the addition ofblogs to the agency s pub- lic information Web sites.This follows the agency's long-standing use of images, videos andYouTube for distributing sto- ries about rescues, responding to oil spills and conveying iniormation about law enforcement activities.The Coast Guard uses Twitter for instant updates (@coast- guard) and has many followers including the White House (@whitehouse) and major news organizations. There is no question that social media continue to alter the landscape of public information. Following the VirginiaTech shooting in 2007, universi- ties s t r u t t e d to determine the best ways to notify students about emergencies. They realized that students often check their Facebook accounts more often than e-mail, and changed their communica- tion plans accordingly to keep up with the latest social media developments. Iheß Incorporating social media Crisis conunuiiicators and public affairs professionals, like their PR coun- terparts, are struggling to incorporate social media into their plans. Perhaps the best way to do this is to incorporate social media into your next crisis drill or major communication e.xercise.When you plan for things that might go wrong, you also need to plan for the role that social media will play and how its involvement will impact your reputation. Realistic drills are the bestiway of evaluating the readiness of an organiza- tion to respond to an actual crisis.An exercise like this provides an ideal oppor- tunity to test the technologies that will be used to aid communication. Because news (rotn mainstream and social media are technology-driven, using outdated tools is like marching into battle in a tight column directly into the muzzles of machine guns. Communicators are already strug- gling to keep up with the technologies needed to manage instant Web updates, efficiently distribute thousands of e-mails to key stakeholders and communicate via text messaging to critical audiences — and now social media is thrown into the nux. It has become essential to use social media tools that facilitiite the dissemina- tion of information in multiple modes. Hut how does your team work together to prepare your key messages and then quickly deliver them to multi- ple audiences?That s why drills are so important. Besides an actual crisis, there is no better way to find out if your team 1549 iivii tnmsmitted via TuHtter. and the technologies they employ will be eiïcctive in meeting these information demands than a drill. Three key elements Drills enable communicators to test three essential parts of any response: poli- cies, plans and people. Using these ele- ments, how can you incorporate social media into a communication drill? Policy —- Organizations such as Target formerly had policies that refused to engage bloggers or other social media outlets. However, when a controversy erupted with online complaints about the suitability of an ad showing a teenage girl with the company's bull's-eye logo on her underwear, they realized the poli- cy had a serious prtiblem. It is important for organization lead- ers to understand that social media should be seen as an arena for conversa- tion rather than merely a channel for directing messagcs.When social media is approached fix>m a control perspective, the engagement is doomed to fail.There is only one decision to make regarding social media — and that is whether you choose to participate in the conversation or let it go on without you. Both have risks, but the consensus among commu- nication professionals seems to be that engagement is essential. Planning — How do you incorpo- rate social media into your response plansPThis starts with an understanding of what social media is, considering your options and knowing what kind of impact each of these may have on your organization. Social media impacB crisis communication in two distinct ways. First, the conversation can affect your organization s perceptions during an event whether you are involved in the conversation or not. Second, social media outlets and formats provide new oppor- tunities to engage stakeholders and the media. Reporters are extensive users of social media during events.They track Twitter accounts, blogs,YouTube, etc. to gather first-hand accounts and gauge reactions.Third, many communicators are now adopting these tools to commu- nicate dfrectly with online audiences. More people are using these tools to sup- plement their traditional distribution methods. Crisis communication planning today must incorporate monitoring, active engagement with relevant sites and the use of emerging forms of social media. People —Are the people who will respond on behalf of your organization conversant with social media? Do they understand the social media culture? Are they capable of engaging in a way consis- tent with the values and priorities ofthat culture? Many organizations, even those with astute PR leaders, have found that there can be a high cost to violating these cul- tural norms. A drill is an excellent oppor- tunity to evaluate the performance ofyour responders — but only if those doing the evaluating understand the role and culture ofthe medium. If the outside professionals who plan and manage crisis drills arc not conversant with social media and how it impacts public perception today, then the exercise will miss the mark. In a tight economy, budgets are restricted and more worit is expected of fewer people. In these circumstances, it is hard to think of planning a major com- munication exercise. But disaster does not wait for good times, and neither should efforts to prepare for the worst. O GeraM Baron i.< ilw foinider ¡md pn-fidiii! ofHiiroii i r (.Àaitpitiiy, a foimdiT ¡ludformer Cl-.O of PIER Systems, a IVch-buH'd commiinkatioti imviiigemerii systein. He is a frequent Sjmikerai t'RSA toiifcreiiics aiulis the lUUhorofNoii' ¡tlbo Late 2: Survival iw an Em ofïnstant Neics. " Dr.John"Pat"WiilWn,APR,,>r;k- senior rice president i<t PHiR Systcnisjonner head of external iiffiimfot FIii\t4 and former chief of pidilic affairs for the U.S. Coast Ctuafd. He has cxtertsiiv ex¡Krivtwe in crisis management. 1 2 April 2 0 0 9 TACTICS COM 657: Final Project Document Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a crisis communication plan. You must deal rapidly, authentically, and efficiently with a crisis. A crisis communication situation demands an appropriate level of authenticity and real-time response. A crisis communication professional must understand where target audiences go for information and must disseminate relevant information across numerous digital channels. The project is supported by three formative milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules One, Five, and Eight. The final submission will occur in Module Ten. Outcomes In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:  Recognize and respond to crisis communication challenges by successfully implementing ethically sound strategies on new media platforms that maintain a positive brand image  Develop an authentic response to crisis management situations through a cogent analysis of relevant case studies and real-time scenarios  Employ innovative technologies and tactics to disseminate messages to specific target audiences about political officials, corporations, and public figures  Evaluate social media trends and related audience reactions with an open-minded, empathetic treatment of different cultural perspectives  Develop a responsible message integrating a contemporary knowledge base of public relations ethics, brand imaging, and contemporary media strategies Milestones Milestone One: Crisis Communication Evaluation Draft In task 1-3, you will submit the crisis topic that you have selected for your final project. Specifically, identify the organization whose crisis communication strategy you are planning to evaluate. Briefly describe an actual crisis that the organization has encountered, and provide some initial thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization’s communication strategy. This milestone will be graded pass/fail. Milestone Two: SWOT Analysis Draft In task 5-2, you will draft an in-depth strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the organization’s strategy for the crisis chosen. Consider social media use and different cultural perspectives. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric. Milestone Three: Campaign Redesign Draft In task 8-2, you will submit a campaign redesign draft for the organization that you chose, including the response strategy. Detail the technologies and tactics to be used. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric. Final Project Submission: Crisis Communication Plan In task 10-2, you will submit your crisis communication plan. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This project will be graded using the Final Project Rubric. Prompt You will prepare a crisis communication plan for a real-world organization. You will select an organization, assess its current communication strategy to address crisis issue(s), and redesign a PR campaign for mitigating the impact of a crisis. How does a crisis communication professional or team effectively respond to a predicament through appropriate digital channels to reach the target audience, with the intent to protect, maintain, or restore the organization’s brand? What crisis communication plan would best demonstrate this? Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: 1. Complete a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of a current crisis communication strategy for a real organization, considering social media use and different cultural perspectives. Include the following: a. Strengths. Analyze the components of the current crisis communication campaign that you consider to be strong. Provide a rationale to substantiate your claims. b. Weaknesses. Analyze the components of the current crisis communication strategy that you consider to be deficient and therefore need to be addressed in your revised plan. Provide a rationale to substantiate your claims. c. Opportunities. Assess the opportunities identified within the current crisis communication strategy. Do you see additional opportunities to be addressed? d. Threats. Assess the threats, both internal to the organization and external, that are identified in the existing plan. Are there other threats that you believe should be considered? 2. Create a new campaign to develop an authentic response strategy by effectively using new media platforms for crisis communications. [COM-657-02] a. Provide a succinct description, essentially a synopsis, of the redesigned campaign. b. Provide a clear rationale for the redesign, supported by evidence from real case studies and potential scenarios relevant to the specific organization. 3. Detail the technologies and tactics that you recommend in the redesigned campaign. a. Recommendations. Provide a description of the digital media platforms/technologies and communications tactics that you recommend. b. Rationale. Justify your recommendations by providing a clear rationale for your selections, highlighting how they address issues and opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis. 4. Craft authentic, transparent messages appropriate for new media platforms and discuss why those messages work across the channels. a. Provide a description of the new messages for specific target audience(s), including any specific attributes that you choose to address in your revised campaign. b. Develop a clear rationale for the strategy behind the new messages, emphasizing brand image and ethical considerations in PR. 5. Provide an implementation plan for the redesigned campaign. a. Detail the process that would need to be followed to implement the campaign. b. Highlight how your redesigned campaign will address specific ethical issues and cultural perspectives in respect to maintaining a positive brand image. Final Project Rubric Requirements of submission: Written components of projects must follow these formatting guidelines: 10–15 pages, double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate citations. The paper should follow APA format. Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (90%) Needs Improvement (70%) Not Evident (0%) Value Crisis Communication Strategy: Strengths Meets “Proficient” criteria, and analysis is comprehensive and well developed Analyzes the strengths of the current crisis communication strategy in terms of its use of social media, particularly for its effectiveness in reaching and addressing various cultural audiences Analyzes the components of the current crisis communication strategy in terms of its use of social media; however, is not effective in reaching and addressing various cultural audience Does not provide an analysis of the strengths of the current crisis communication strategy 5 Crisis Communication Strategy: Weaknesses Meets “Proficient” criteria, and analysis is comprehensive and well developed Analyzes the components in the current crisis communication strategy that are considered to be deficient and provides a rationale to substantiate claims Analyzes the components in the current crisis communication strategy that are considered to be deficient; however, does not provide a rationale to substantiate claims Does not provide an analysis of the weaknesses of a current crisis communication strategy 5 Crisis Communication Strategy: Opportunities Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates creativity in identifying additional opportunities Assesses the opportunities identified within the current crisis communication strategy and, if applicable, identifies additional opportunities to be addressed Assesses the opportunities identified within the current crisis communication strategy; however, overlooks relevant factors Does not provide an analysis of the opportunities for the crisis communication strategy 5 Crisis Communication Strategy: Threats Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates creativity in identifying additional threats Assesses the threats, both internal to the organization and external, that are identified in the existing plan and, if applicable, assesses other threats that should be considered Assesses the threats, both internal to the organization and external, that are identified in the existing plan; however, overlooks relevant factors Does not present an analysis of threats for the crisis communication strategy 5 New Campaign: Synopsis Meets “Proficient” criteria, and description is clear and compelling and demonstrates creativity in the redesign of the crisis communication campaign Succinctly describes or provides a synopsis of the redesigned crisis communication campaign Provides a description or synopsis of the redesigned crisis communication campaign; however, is not clear and lacks sufficient detail Does not describe a redesigned crisis communication campaign 10 New Campaign: Rationale Meets “Proficient” criteria and cites specific, relevant examples to support the redesigned campaign Provides a clear rationale for the redesigned campaign, supported by evidence from real case studies and potential scenarios relevant to the specific organization Provides a rationale for the redesigned campaign; however, it is not supported by evidence from real case studies and potential scenarios relevant to the specific organization Does not provide a rationale for the redesigned campaign 10 Technologies and Tactics: Recommendations Meets “Proficient” criteria, demonstrates a superior knowledge of new media platforms/technologies, and provides relevant, concrete examples to substantiate claims Provides a description of the digital media platforms/technologies and communications tactics that are recommended Provides a description of the digital media platforms/technologies and communications tactics that are recommended; however, is not clear and lacks sufficient detail Does not provide a description of any recommendations 10 Technologies and Tactics: Rationale Meets “Proficient” criteria, uses a variety of online platforms, and provides relevant, concrete examples to substantiate claims Justifies the selected recommendations by providing a clear rationale, highlighting how they address issues and opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis Justifies the selected recommendations by providing a rationale, highlighting how they address issues and opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis; however, overlooks relevant factors Does not justify recommendations for the online tools and tactics 10 Messages: Target Audience(s) Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates a superior understanding of the target audience(s) Proposes new, authentic, and transparent messages for specific target audience(s), addressing relevant communication attributes Proposes new, authentic, and transparent messages for specific target audience(s); however, does not address relevant communication attributes Does not propose new, authentic, and transparent messages for specific target audience(s) 5 Messages: Rationale Meets “Proficient” criteria and substantiates rationale with specific, relevant examples Develops a clear rationale for why new messages work across the digital channels to protect, maintain, or restore the organization’s brand Develops a rationale for why new messages work across the digital channels to protect, maintain, or restore the organization’s brand; however, overlooks relevant factors Does not develop a rationale for why the messages work 5 Implementation Plan: Process Meets “Proficient” criteria and demonstrates a professional understanding of addressing a communication crisis Details the process that would need to be followed to implement the campaign Details the process that would need to be followed to implement the campaign; however, overlooks relevant factors Does not propose a plan to implement the crisis communication strategy in response to a crisis 10 Implementation Plan: Ethical Issues and Cultural Perspectives Meets “Proficient” criteria and illustrates a sophisticated understanding of ethical and cultural considerations Highlights how the redesigned campaign will address specific ethical issues and cultural perspectives in respect to maintaining a positive brand image Highlights how the redesigned campaign will address specific ethical issues and cultural perspectives in respect to maintaining a positive brand image; however, is not clear and lacks sufficient detail Does not consider crisis communication issues associated with ethical concerns in respect to maintaining a positive brand image 10 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy to read format Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 10 Total 100%