Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
In an increasingly remote and cloud-based business ecosystem, companies across all industries continue to be targets of ongoing cyberattacks. From hospitals and banks to transportation companies and tech giants, the event of a cyber breach is unfortunately no longer a matter of if, but rather when it will occur.
Having a corporate crisis communication plan on hand is wise, but given the uptick in cyber-related events, it’s important to revisit these crisis playbooks and update sections to reflect the real threats of running a business in 2021 and managing a remote or hybrid workforce.
If you have not developed a crisis communications plan, it’s not too late. It is far better to be proactive and develop these materials now so that, in the event of a crisis, the executive team can refer to a strategic plan with agreed-upon response steps. Response steps offer guidance on how to effectively manage communications when faced with a crisis situation. This guidance includes when the company should share messages, what the context of the messages will be, who will receive those messages, which executives will share the messages and how the message will be sent, aka the communication channel (e.g. email, text alert, etc.).
With that said, a major deterrent of developing a crisis communication plan is the time investment. To help facilitate planning and development, we’ve created a checklist of highly recommended assets. When it comes time to develop a cyber crisis plan or update existing plans with cyber-related responses, the overview, elements needed, and potential time investment will be clear.
- List of potential cyber security events. This could include hacks, ransomware or network outages.
- Members of the crisis communications team. These are the individuals within the company and outside the organization who will be vetting the initial breach and then managing the response to relevant parties.
- Response steps. The list of response steps provides the crisis team with an agreed upon overview and direction of what will take place during a cyber event. It is also helpful to include suggested owners with each of the response steps in advance of the crisis situation so all members of the crisis have shared expectations of who will be owning what and when it will happen.
- Crisis evaluation framework. This framework could be a matrix or table and outline the different scenarios paid with their associated response. This framework will help the communications team determine the proper communication response based on the IT expert’s security diagnosis.
- Draft templates. Developing draft messages that will be shared by the company in the event of a cyber event will save time when in a crisis situation. The team can then refer to these templates and make the necessary updates to address the relevant information and parties impacted by the event.
- Communication channels. Depending on the severity of a cyber event, communication channels might be limited. Here it will be important to outline the channels available to the company and understand who those channels reach.
- Media response. This section is particularly helpful in a communications plan, as it provides the team with guidance on when to be proactive vs. reactive when sharing updates about the cyber event with media – and other external audiences.
- Guidelines for spokespeople. These best practices and tips go hand in hand with the media response and will help the company spokesperson navigate the response as successfully as possible.
After a crisis plan is developed, it is wise to participate in a mock crisis response, where the crisis communications team can walk through the developed plan and test out the flow of the response steps. This practice will also provide the spokespeople with media training and best practices for navigating cyber crisis related questions that journalists would surely ask.
For other helpful crisis communication resources, check out the following articles:
- Communicating in a Crisis
- Guidelines for Spokespeople When Handling a Crisis
- The Power of a Blog in a Crisis
- Components of a Successful Crisis Plan
- What Not to Do in Crisis Communication
Three industry experts were brought together by Business Wire for a virtual panel to discuss the media and public relations trends they expected to see in 2021. I’ve highlighted the most impactful recommendations and trends to look out for below.
Utilize Employees as Influencers
In the past there has been a hesitancy to trust employees as spokespeople for their organization on social media. Executives tended to avoid utilizing and promoting voices within the company for fear of what an employee could say. That being said, the pandemic has demonstrated to organizations that employees can be trusted outside of the office.
Employees’ voices can provide credibility and validation for an organization’s actions. They’re credible as an expert because of their work experience and knowledge of the organization from the inside. In the next year, you can expect organizations to prioritize celebrating and promoting the voices of employees, customers and suppliers on social media channels.
Expand Hybrid Event Options
Some of the biggest global events were still successful in 2020 after converting to become 100% virtual. We can expect in-person events to resume again during 2021, but with improvements informed by the successes of the past year’s virtual events.
First, we can expect online options for most events in the next year. Virtual options are cheaper for guests to access and can expand the event’s reach to new audiences otherwise unable to attend in person. Second, events may play pre-recorded lectures to enable the speaker to answer questions live in a chatbox while the video plays.
Implement Disinformation Playbooks
The last few years have taught us that no one is safe from disinformation. False or fabricated stories in the media are becoming commonplace. In 2021, we expect organizations to create disinformation playbooks to allow for quick responses if they should be the target of such an attack.
Preparing a plan in advance is critical to informing the best strategy for combating disinformation. As we saw in 2020, sometimes addressing disinformation does little to address the concerns of those who believe it, but instead only fans the flames.
Prioritize Action Over Words
In response to social unrest and calls for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the workplace, public relations professionals are prioritizing the importance of a company’s actions over their words. Business Wire panelist Stuart Bruce spoke to this idea; “You can’t communicate your way out of something you have behaved yourself into.” In 2021, customers, employees and stakeholders will be looking for actions. Tired of apology fatigue, people are interested in learning how organizations will step back and address issues beyond a composed apology.
Of course, actions take time. Sincere apologies must be paired with a commitment to change. For example, following the protests for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd, brands like PepsiCo and Starbucks made statements condemning racism and subsequently backed them up by implementing changes within their organizations. PepsiCo committed to remove the racist caricature of Aunt Jemima from their syrup bottles and Starbucks allowed employees to wear Black Lives Matter shirts, hats and pins.
I hope that, after reviewing these trends, organizations can proactively prepare for the coming year. Change is necessary and inevitable. The best we can do is to stay informed and prepare for it.
Political polarization. Cultural divide. Partisan gap. If you are anything like me, you’ve been feeling the division in our society intensely for the last couple weeks. Or maybe months? Or years? Take your pick.
The Associated Press dedicated a 2016 series to the topic, saying “Americans are more divided than ever, gridlocked over social issues, race, gender and the economy…It’s no longer just Republican vs. Democrat, or liberal vs. conservative. It’s the 1 percent vs. the 99 percent, rural vs. urban.” And last summer, the Pew Research Center found that when it came to views on former President Donald J. Trump, the gap between Republicans’ and Democrats’ was wider “than for any other U.S. president in the modern era of polling.”
There is an argument to be made that the media amplifies this cultural divide we are all experiencing. However, the fact is, we all feel it and we carry those feelings into our workplaces, whether it’s in person at the office or over Zoom.
The good news is this cultural divide has been countered in recent months with a crescendo of corporate voices calling for a stronger commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Increasingly, companies are emphasizing the importance of employees’ individuality; pledging to embrace the differences in their workforce and to identify and banish systemic inequity. However, the stumbling block for many companies in this area is how to implement and effectively bring about such fundamental change.
More organizations are turning to DEI training to address the unconscious bias and barriers to diversity and equity within the workplace. Our client, Kantola Training Solutions, recently gave our agency a chance to trial their new comprehensive DEI course. The interactive, self-paced training guides learners through exercises that require quick judgements, careful deliberation, and creative thinking. My initial impression was that this course was vastly different than any I’d experienced in the past. More on that later. First, I want to explore why DEI initiatives fail.
There have been instances that have shown implementing DEI training within companies can backfire, and in some cases, increase hostility and bias in the workplace.
The main challenge in creating an inclusive environment where employees can show up as their authentic selves, according to Associate Professor of Sociology Ilana Redstone, is that our whole selves “inevitably include our political orientations, our moral intuitions and our tolerance for difference.”
As Redstone notes, we’re facing differences in how people understand core concepts like fairness, identity and intent. So, based on this, how then do we authentically reconcile these essential differences in the workplace?
Redstone argues in her Forbes’ article that the key to creating an inclusive workplace is to change mindset rather than to change minds. She suggests that we can either start talking to each other with the understanding that there will never be total agreement, or we can strive for consensus on these controversial subjects. Redstone argues that the first option is the “only path forward” and “organizations that ignore this reality will see an erosion in their workplace cultures-and in their bottom lines.”
The first step is for leaders to create a culture that fosters “humility, curiosity and a willingness to be wrong,” writes Redstone. An environment where employees are eager to learn how others experience the workplace and open to seeing the world in a new way, possibly divergent from what they’ve always understood, presents a strong foundation for fundamentally transforming corporate culture.
So, what made Kantola’s DEI training so different? As I explored the course further, it struck me that this tool aims to do just what Redstone proposes – foster a new way of thinking. By allowing learners to “step into the shoes” of individuals with differing perspectives and learn how others can experience the same workplace in very different ways, Kantola’s course sets the stage for a conversation between people with a variety of viewpoints. And by engaging learners in a safe, judgement-free learning space, the course lets them see how their choices impact the lives of others in the workplace, thus giving the opportunity to reflect and adjust their behavior.
Emphasizing their intention to drive change in organizations, Kantola has also developed a companion leadership primer to guide companies through the steps of building a successful DEI program.
The chorus of voices calling for a fundamental change in America’s corporate culture is warranted, but the element that’s been missing is the crucial first step of changing mindset. For any DEI initiative to work, companies must first create a foundation of acceptance of diverse viewpoints. By creating an environment where employees welcome and embrace new perspectives, leaders are laying the groundwork for success in reimagining their corporate culture.
Boilerplates – the paragraph that provides key information about a person or company – are essential for companies that are looking to clearly articulate their mission and consistently provide important background information for journalists. Public relations professionals are frequently tasked with developing this standardized paragraph used across a variety of marketing materials. They often include high-level information and can be beneficial for companies in several ways.
Before taking a closer look at the composition of boilerplates, let’s take a step back to learn the historical significance of the word. The origins of boilerplates can be traced back to the 19th century, referring to a plate of steel used as a template in the construction of steam boilers. For the newspaper industry, these sheets of plated steel were used for engraving copies of prepared text intended for widespread reproduction in newspapers, such as advertisements or syndicated columns. Known as boilerplates, these consistent steel plated texts lowered the cost of production and saved time in the printing process.
Today, the term is applied widely across a variety of industries to refer to a standardized method, form or procedure. In public relations, the boilerplate is a standardized paragraph inserted at the end of all press releases that provides an overview of the company or organization. For this blog post, we’ll examine the structure and benefits of boilerplates.
What’s Inside a Boilerplate?
Essentially, a boilerplate is a corporate summary that’s reprinted word-for-word at the end of every press release, among other places. Boilerplates help companies educate readers on their mission and offerings. When drafting the piece, content should be direct, concise and free of jargon. If you are uncertain of what to include, I suggest reviewing the elements below to guarantee you’ve covered all the bases. Boilerplates can include:
- The date and place the company or organization was founded
- Information about products or services
- The mission and purpose of the company or organization
- Major milestones, awards, and honors
- Impressive metrics, e.g., number of employees or customers
- Relevant website or social media links
Benefits of Boilerplates
While boilerplates are often overlooked and given little attention, they can help companies connect with their audience and establish their brand through consistent and concise messaging. For companies, the boilerplate is the one piece of information that gets the most exposure across all channels. In press releases, a boilerplate can establish a company’s background, mission and important milestones. For journalists, it offers consistency as they look to connect the dots between separate stories. In addition, boilerplates make their job easier and helps them quickly recall a company without further research.
Although it can seem like a tedious job, boilerplates should be consistently reviewed and updated with relevant details when new developments or milestones are reached. Set a reminder on your calendar to review all boilerplates as you enter a new quarter and add a link back to this blog post so you can be confident that this ready-to-use piece of content includes the most up-to-date and compelling information.
Like many people, I spent my COVID quarantine listening to not one but two surprise Taylor Swift albums. Taylor has long been lauded for her storytelling ability – it’s arguably her greatest strength as a musician. Her devoted fans feel connected to her lyrics and envision themselves in the songs she sings, which are rife with everyday struggles and describe emotions we all feel or felt in our youth. As she’s matured, so have her stories and perspectives. While her albums once told stories about a scorned young woman burning pictures of her ex, they now tell stories of complicated marriages with imbalanced expressions of adoration and support. When you listen to them, it’s like stepping into the universe in which the stories exist and living them firsthand.
Writers can learn much from Taylor’s storytelling prowess. Below are three lessons.
No. 1: Let the Details do the Talking
A story must be created, as it were, brush stroke by brush stroke. The writer should strive to show the reader, rather than tell them. Small, concrete details are usually the difference between a story that works and a story that fails, or between a good piece of writing and a great piece of writing. Details inject emotion into a story and draw on the reader’s senses to bring the story to life. It’s important to note that a story does not necessarily have to have a lot of details. Certainly, writers don’t want gratuitous details that will only bore the reader. Remember: every detail should have a purpose. When implemented correctly, they will do all the legwork.
Taylor is a master at using details to bring the (in her case) listener into the story. Often, she chooses to focus on the specific rather than the vague and uses precise, matter-of-fact language (though the details do become more poetic in folklore and evermore). Check out these lyrics from Taylor’s canon, and take note of the way they provide precise imagery and emotion:
- “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye / And I got that red lip, classic thing that you like”
- “Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze / We’re singing in the car, getting lost upstate / Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place / And I can picture it after all these days.”
- “And I was catching my breath / Floors of a cabin creaking under my step”
- “The buttons of my coat were tangled in my hair / In doctor’s-office-lighting, I didn’t tell you I was scared”
- “I do recall now the smell of the rain / Fresh on the pavement / I ran off the plane”
- “Your eyes whispered, ‘Have we met?’ / Across the room your silhouette / Starts to make its way to me”
- “Your mom’s ring in your pocket / My picture in your wallet / Your heart was glass, I dropped it”
No. 2: Consider the Power of Perspective
One of the first things a writer considers is point of view. The point of view determines whose eyes the reader experiences the story through. Choosing the appropriate point of view for your story is crucial since different points of view cause different effects on the story and on the way the reader will interpret it. Over the years, many writers have used dual or triple perspectives to build stories. One key advantage of a dual or triple perspective is that it offers variety and contrast; it can balance out a particularly unreliable narrator with a more reliable one, or it can allow two flawed narratives to complement one another. In addition, when the story is told from more than one perspective, the reader gains a greater depth of understanding and gets to enjoy connecting the dots as the story unfolds. Taylor makes use of this literary tool in her storytelling.
On folklore, we’re treated to a love triangle told through three songs: betty, cardigan and august. Each song describes the same drama from a different perspective. In betty, we get to know James, a 17-year-old high school boy who cheats on his girlfriend Betty. In august, we meet the girl James had the affair with and in cardigan, we meet an older and wiser Betty looking back on her younger self’s heartbreak. Each song conveys vastly different emotions while ultimately using the same subject material. In betty we feel remorse and regret, in august we feel disappointment and longing, and in cardigan we feel heartbreak, loss and nostalgia. Taylor again uses this literary tool on evermore in tracks dorothea and ‘tis the damn season.
No. 3: Paint a Picture Using Metaphors
One of the most effective illustrative tools in storytelling is the metaphor. Writers love metaphors because they add texture and beauty to an otherwise dry description. Taylor is one such writer. For example, in Clean, she likens the time spent healing after a breakup to sobriety. After ten months sober, she’s finally clean. A song about two criminals driving a getaway car is a metaphor for a fast-tracked relationship doomed to crash.
Ultimately, metaphors make writing more colorful, interesting and, as a result, memorable. When readers encounter a phrase or word that cannot be interpreted literally, they are given the pleasure of interpretation. If you write a factual description, then that’s the end of the line for the reader – no thought necessary. But if you use a metaphor, your readers can consider and choose from many possible meanings.
Below are a few examples of how Taylor uses metaphors in her writing:
- “You’re not my homeland anymore / So what am I defendin’ now?”
- “I’m still on that trapeze / I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me”
- “You wear the same jewels that I gave you / As you bury me”
- “I’m a crumpled-up piece of paper lying here”
- “But I took your matches / Before fire could catch me / So don’t look now”
- “You were drivin’ the getaway car / We were flyin’, but we’d never get far”
- “The drought was the very worst / When the flowers that we’d grown together died of thirst”
- “The rest of the world was black and white / But we were in screaming color”
Taylor Swift is one of many great storytellers, and there are several lessons writers can learn from her. Writers that take a page out of Taylor’s book and rely on descriptive details, powerful perspective and illustrative metaphors will enhance their storytelling skills.
The use of quantitative data in communication can be very powerful as we’ve noted in previous blogs: “Leveraging Data in Storytelling” and “When Leveraging Data, Don’t Forget the Human Element.” However, numeric information is only effective if people understand it.
Dr. Ellen Peters, the Philip H. Knight chair and director of the Center for Science Communication Research (SCR) at the University of Oregon, has studied and written about human judgment and decision-making with a particular focus on numbers and numeracy, which is the ability to process and use numbers effectively.
In her 302-page book, “Innumeracy in the Wild: Misunderstanding and Misusing Numbers” (Oxford), she sets out to answer three main questions:
- Does numeric ability matter to the quality of judgments and decisions we make?
- If it does, how, when and why is it important?
- How can we use this knowledge to improve decision-making?
While this book is written primarily for academic researchers, it’s also a wonderful resource for PR, communications and marketing professionals, as we are often tasked with communicating numeric information. A better understanding of numeracy can help communicators improve techniques, allowing audiences who are less adept at grasping abstract numeric information to understand and harness information that hinges on numbers and statistics.
In particular, chapters 15 through 17 focus on how communicators can present numeric information more effectively through the use of evidence-based techniques. Peters’ suggestions may also support your own understanding of numbers. If you’re in a position where you’re grappling to understand numeric information, for instance, as a patient in a discussion with your physician, or as a consumer trying to make sense of various mortgage options, you can put these techniques to work.
Imagine a situation where you’re talking with your primary care physician about the relative risk of a particular treatment. In this situation, it might be a good idea to drill into the absolute risks, too.
As Peters writes: “People often say they prefer risk information in relative risk formats, but this format [often] leads to misunderstandings. For example, hormone replacement therapy can be used to relieve symptoms of menopause, but it more than doubles deaths from breast cancer (its relative risk). This seemingly large increase, however, can be put in an arguably more appropriate absolute context: It increases deaths from breast cancer by a relatively minor absolute change of .02%, from 12 out of 10,000 to 25 out of 10,000. The relative-risk communication, not surprisingly, magnifies risk perceptions, and treatments are viewed less favorably than when the same information is presented using the absolute-risk format among lay people and medical experts.”
Other strategies Peters recommends include identifying your specific communication goal, “including figuring out what people know and don’t know, and what they should know.” Then you need to choose the information you want to share, determine the best format for sharing it, and test whether it works.
Communicators should not be afraid to share quantitative information because studies show that people prefer actual numbers as opposed to more qualitative verbal descriptions. In particular, Peters shares the results from a study about risk information about breast cancer and mammography. When people use qualitative labels such as “low chance” or “common” as substitutes for numbers, there are varying interpretations of what those labels mean.
After reading “Innumeracy in the Wild,” I have a better understanding of how people understand and use numeric information, when to provide quantitative information, how to reduce people’s cognitive barriers, when to present absolute vs. relative risk numbers, and what visuals to use to support comprehension.
I recommend Peters’ book for any communicator who is interested in honing their comprehension of the psychological drivers around numbers and the impact a firm grasp can have on health, business, finance, climate change and more.