importance
of crisis management planning
Importance of Crisis Management Planning
We always like to think that we've planned appropriately for an upcoming sponsorship program. Seasoned sponsors double-check and then check again every detail involving hospitality, transportation, signage, delivery schedules, outside vendors, pre-event public relations support, and a multitude of other minutiae. But crisis management planning is a crucial detail that many sponsors, both veteran and novice, tend to overlook or neglect. Here is a look at just a few potential crises, as well as suggested measures to manage the most unexpected emergencies or mitigate damaging consequences:
Your company's products, which are critical to the operation of the event or the experience of participants (i.e. marathon timing, computer scoring), fail to deliver. What do you do? Always have your own technical staff on-site and never rely on the knowledge or level of technical proficiency of the property's staff. Always have backup materials available in the event of product failure.
An attendee is injured at the event your company title sponsors. How
do you react? Offer emotional support to the injured party and any immediate
assistance they may require, but refrain from accusing the property or
anyone else of being at fault since there is some likelihood that your
company may be named in a lawsuit.
A celebrity or athlete
endorser of your company is accused of criminal behavior. Should you end
the relationship? The answer to this question depends on the depth of
the relationship, whether he or she has a history of bad behavior, and
the seriousness of the accusations. Gather the facts behind the allegations
and determine whether it's in your company's best interests to sever ties
with the athlete or celebrity before they are either convicted or exonerated.
It's in your best interests to issue a statement soon after you have gathered
the facts.
It is imperative to have at least one member of the public relations staff
assigned to sponsorship. This allows a pr professional, hopefully with
crisis management experience, to become expert in the medium and comfortable
responding to situations relating to sponsorship activities. The pr assignee
should be the primary spokesperson for crisis control.
A senior-level executive, such as a VP of Marketing Communications, should represent the company at major sponsorship programs and related press events. Your VP should be accompanied by a member of the pr staff and should be prepared to answer questions regarding the company's sponsorship.
Finally, your crisis control plan should have significant input and review
from your risk management department. The plan should be distributed to
all members of your staff with sponsorship management responsibilities.
