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Crisis Communications Plan PENN STATE UNIVERSITY Crisis Communications Plan COMM 498C Sara Fogel, Kelsey Ginck, Cassie Greco, Megan Dutill 4/26/2012 Introduction: This is a crisis communication plan that will be a guide to help you through a communication crisis. You may need to adjust certain elements and add the correct information to have it apply for your particular situation. This plan is not intended for all questions you need answered for a crisis. This is just a basic outline of options that should be considered if and when you find yourself in a crisis and need help. Any situation that threatens your integrity or reputation of your company is considered a crisis. These various situations can be any type of legal dispute, theft, accident, fire, flood, or manmade disaster that involves negative media attention towards your company. The media can also reflect your company negatively if they felt that you did not handle the crisis in the correct manner. This plan is designed to assist you in situations where you might find yourself in a crisis to help minimize the damage being done to your company. The first thing to remember when handling any crisis is to tell the truth, and tell it fast. By doing this, you can minimize the negative attention directed towards your company. If a crisis arises, you must immediately contact the CEO and the chief of the public relations department. Once these two organizations are aware of the certain circumstances you might be facing, this plan can be put into effect. Dark Site: http://crisiscommdarksite.weebly.com/index.html 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgment Page……………………………………………………………………………1 Crisis Background……………………………………………………………………………………2 Crisis Scenario……………………………………………………………………………….2 Prodromes…………………………………………………………………………………….2 Key Publics…………………………………………………………………………………….2 CEO Biography…………………………………………………………………………………………3 Statement from Management to Employees…………………………………………..4 Crisis Team……………………………………………………………………………………………..5 Crisis Directory of Key Personnel…..………………………………………………………..6 Phone Tree……………………………………………………………………………………………..7 Crisis Management Plan: Operational Steps……………………………………… 8-11 Situational Analysis……………………………………………………………………….8 Strategic Considerations………………………………………………………………..8 Operation Response/Action Steps…………………………………………………9 Key Themes/Specific Messages……………………………………………………..9 Q&A………………………………………………………………………………………….9-11 Media Directory……………………………………………………………………………….12-14 Press Release…………………………………………………………………………………………15 Media Advisory……………………………………………………………………………………..16 Opening Statement……………………………………………………………………………….17 Pre-gathered Information……………………………………………………………………..18 Fact Sheet……………………………………………………………………………………18 Backgrounder…………………………………………………………………………19-21 Map of Company Area…………………………………………………………………22 Press Conference Information……………………………………………………………….23 Designated Spokesperson……………………………………………………………24 Media Information Center……………………………………………………………24 Crisis Supply List………………………………………………………………………….24 Emergency Response Information…………………………………………………………24 Federal Agencies Contact Information…………………………………………………..25 2 Acknowledgement Page David Barger Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director __________________________________ Date: ____________________ Mark Powers Chief Financial Officer __________________________________ Date: ____________________ Joanna Geraghty Executive Vice President and Chief Personnel __________________________________ Date: ____________________ Robin Hayes Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer __________________________________ Date: ____________________ Rob Maruster Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer __________________________________ Date: ____________________ James Hnat Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, General Council and Corporate Security __________________________________ Date: ____________________ 3 Crisis Background Crisis Scenario: It is one of the busiest seasons of the year, anD a bad storm is on the forecast. In a last minute Decision Jet Blue executives DeciDe to not cancel flights in the hopes that the planes will beat out the storm. But the plan fails, anD the planes must wait for it to pass. Unfortunately because it is the busiest season of the year, all gates are full, anD the plane is stuck sitting on the runway for an extenDeD perioD of time. What will we Do? How will we calm the worries of the customers, how will we Quell the media from scaring people into DemanDing refunDs? How will we protect our reputation? Prodromes: • Bad weather • Other airlines cancelling flights • High traffic times e.g. Holidays, Vacation times, etc. • A lot of employees off Duty • Flights getting backed up on the runway Key Publics: o Passengers o Family of Passengers o General customers o News Media o Employees o Shareholders o Labor Union 4 CEO Biography David Barger Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director David Barger is our Chief Executive Officer, PresiDent anD a member of the board of directors. He joined our board in September 2001 and served as our PresiDent from August 1998-September 2007. Between 1998 anD 2007, Mr. Barger also served as the company's Chief Operating Officer. From 1992 to 1998, Mr. Barger serveD in various management positions with Continental Airlines, incluDing Vice PresiDent, Newark hub. He held various director level positions at Continental Airlines from 1988 to 1995. From 1982 to 1988, Mr. Barger served in various positions with New York Air, including Director of Stations. Mr. Barger attenDed the University of Michigan. 5 Statement from Management to Employees CONFIDENTIAL FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY To the Dedicated Employees of JetBlue, This letter is to inform you that we are currently enacting our ____________________ Crisis Plan. A penDing winter storm in the New York area threateneD to cancel numerous flights during this busy season, and after careful consiDeration the management team here at JetBlue DecideD to keep the flights as scheduled anD hope that the weather woulD holD out. Unfortunately the weather DiD not cooperate, anD passengers were left sitting on the planes on the runway for _____ hours. Effective immediately the Public Relations department will be launching the ______________ Crisis Plan. We want to stress that this plan is crucial to maintain our company’s reputation. The public neeDs to know that this was an isolateD incident, anD we will Do our best to ensure that this Does not happen again. If this plan is not followeD as laid out, it will create an image of Disconnect within our company, which is not what we want. We want people to know that we are all stanDing together through this crisis, anD we remain loyal to our airline. If we show our loyalty, customers are more likely to exhibit similar behavior. All we ask for During this time is your support anD cooperation. We ask that all employees who have not been authorized to Do so Do not responD to meDia inQuiries. All inQuiries can be directeD to Tamara Young, Manager of Corporate Communications. We also ask that all employees refrain from engaging in social meDia conversation about this topic. We thank you for your continueD support of JetBlue. Sincerely, David Barger Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director 6 Crisis Team David Barger CEO and President Tamara Young Manager of Corporate Communications James Hnat Executive Vice President Rob Maruster Chief Operating Officer Vasilios Kaplanidis Station Manager of JetBlue Airways at JFK 7 Crisis Directory of Key Personnel David Barger Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director (212) 556-1234 Tamara Young Manager, Corporate Communications (212) 556-1235 Mark Powers Chief Financial Officer (212) 556-1236 Joanna Geraghty Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer (212) 556-1237 Robin Hayes Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer (212) 556-1238 James Hnat Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, General Counsel anD Corporate Secretary (212) 556-1239 Rob Maruster Chief Operating Officer (212) 556-1230 8 Phone Tree Joanna Geraghty (212) 556-1237 9 Crisis Management Plan: Operational Steps Situational Analysis: During a holiday season (or extremely busy travel season) a pending storm threatens to cancel all outgoing flights in New York. An executive Decision is maDe to keep flights scheduleD in hopes that the storm will miss the New York area. What seemed like a gooD Decision at the time turns out to be a disaster when the storm hits while planes are taxiing down the runway. The aircrafts are trappeD on the tarmac, anD going back to a gate turns out to be impossible because more flights have arrived and boarded new passengers. The planes are stuck on the runway for an unusual amount of hours, anD passengers are at first Denied fooD anD water because of the policy that states the plane must be stuck on the tarmac for at least 4 hours before food and beverages are given out. Strategic Considerations: • Employee Policies o Letter to employees will be released within 2 hours of crisis o General employees are not authorized to speak to media and are encouraged to forwarD any inQuiries to Tamara Young o Employees are strongly discouraged from engaging in social meDia conversation surrounDing the current crisis • MeDia Policies o All meDia inQuires will be returneD within 3 hours o All interviews will be conDucteD by a member of the Crisis Management team within 48 hours o All members of recognized press will be granted entrance to press conference (held within the first 24 hours) cameras, tape recorders, anD video camera
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