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Brands sometimes find themselves in murky waters, however, innocently, but public reactions can never be predicted.

The constant shift in the media landscape and the internet provide opportunities for various narratives from the public, regardless of the truth.

For this cause, it is important that business owners are prepared and always think ahead on how to manage publicity nightmares should their brands fall victim.

According to America’s 35^th President, JF Kennedy, “Crisis is like a two-strokes brush; one for danger, the other for opportunity. Be aware of the danger – but always recognize the opportunity”.
This means whenever a business or organization is hit with a crisis, the way the brand handles it determines if it can enhance its reputation or damage it.

Going by his advice, one of the approaches to solving a brand’s PR crisis is for the brand to use the moment of crisis to build an emotional profile with the public. This means employing tactics like vulnerability, mutuality, and familiarity.

Be Vulnerable

It is necessary that all brands have a human side.

Against the practical need to appear serious-minded, companies must have a relatable side to effectively handle their crisis management.

As expected of any decent human, when brands find themselves in the midst of public quagmires, and reasonable faults are claimed upon the brands, they must first apologize.

While most brands would decide not to and instead choose to go silent and wait it out, putting out the wildfire is better. You can do this by owning up, staying transparent and being empathetic as much as you can.

You must show that you understand the magnitude of the current situation and also be sincere about the measures you are putting in place (or not) to control the situation.

Induce Sense of Value

Regardless of the crisis, every brand has a high chance at earning the public’s forgiveness if its audience is convinced that the brand hasn’t deviated from its beliefs and shared values.

Riding on your brand’s essence and reputation, it is easy to solve a crisis when you know your audience believes in your vision and values.

This way, the damages from the crisis are minimal as your audience shows signs of trust and perceived hope in your brand till you can have time to clear the air.

Evoke Sense of Belonging

Identity is recognition.

Taking the time to work on your brand identity will always yield great results. It helps during crisis management as your audience become evangelists against bad narratives because they identify with your brand.

When your audience is familiar with your brand, you can connect easily with them in a way that they understand.

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TL;DR

There are various approaches to solving a PR crisis. Using emotions means you get past the logic of the public and appeal to their sentiments. How do you do this? Employ tactics such as;

1. Vulnerability
2. Mutuality
3. Familiarity

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Like most strategies or approaches, the above are not fool-proof. However, engaging the expertise of Del-York International helps you to avoid making mistakes.

Our professional team of Strategic Communicators are capable of solving your brand crisis no matter the magnitude of such a crisis. Partner with us today!