Crisis Communications: Fighting Brand Fires

Asking, “What is crisis communications?” SHIFT Communications’ Christopher Penn offers the fundamental definition: the effort to mitigate damage to the company’s reputation by third-party sources.

Crisis communications, Penn says, is the flipside of the traditional goal of public relations, which is to garner positive attention and approval of third parties. He likens it to firefighting, an apt metaphor given the three elements needed for a fire to burn. Take one away, and the fire goes out.

Read Penn’s advice for fighting brand fires on the SHIFT Blog.

For a social-media-centric discussion of crisis communications, read Pamela Walaski’s article, “Social Media: Powerful Tools for SH&E Professionals,” from the April 2013 issue of Professional Safety.