How to Manage a PR Crisis a.k.a. Damage Control

There are many ways to handle or manage a PR crisis. At Lucid Public Relations, we believe in a simple set of guidelines. It is almost always best to get ahead of the media. If something has happened in your practice or company that is likely to provoke a PR disaster, the best thing to do is immediately hire a PR firm.

Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is to tell the story first, tell it yourself, and tell it truthfully. In the age of the 24 hour news cycle, the media is always anxious to cover exciting, controversial stories, and if you don’t tell your story, someone else will, and chances are it won’t be told in a way which casts you in a favorable light. Media blackouts and “no comments” have their place in crisis management, but often times, applying these strategies without thought to the alternative eliminates an opportunity to stop a crisis in its tracks.

At Lucid, we have the experience to navigate you and your company through the media minefield. Lucid President and Founder Ben Cooke has years of agency experience, and Vice President and Co-Founder Jonathan Franks comes from a strong crisis background both in the law and in professional politics. Having handled countless PR crises in the past we have the experience of collaborating with clients and their attorneys to successfully navigate the roaring rapids of a potentially damaging publicly visible issue.

Ultimately, our measure for success is keeping your potential crisis from becoming an actual one, and work to keep your situation out of the media entirely. In the event that media coverage becomes inevitable, we work quickly to make sure your message is heard loud and clear, often avoiding the minefield that is the media rumor mill.