Term Paper on "Communication Strategies Used in Crisis Management"

Term Paper 8 pages (2218 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Communication Strategies Used in Crisis Management

To operate successfully, sports marketing relies on a variety of processes and functions, including product, price, promotion, place, market segmentation and services marketing (O'Bierne and Ries, 2002). However, one management process that is often overlooked by sports marketers and marketing authors is crisis management. The communication strategies used by sports and athletic organizations to manage crises or scandals is a very important part of sports management.

Crisis management, which is frequently referred to as risk or emergency management, is the process that employs strategies to counteract the negative affects of an event or action that can damage the reputation of an individual or an organization (O'Bierne and Ries, 2002). Marketing and public relations professionals are constantly launching campaigns heavily based in crisis communications theory to counteract negative publicity. However, many fail to grasp the value of crisis management and are often unwilling to priorities communications efforts in relations to crisis management in regular operations.

One of the most important aspects of crisis management is the development and implementation of a theoretical and effective media relations campaign (O'Bierne and Ries, 2002). The media plays a key role in an organization's attempt to send key messages to the publics. On the flip side, it can also send negative and damaging messages, particularly when there is a crisis or scandal involved. The media's ability to jump on a story as soon as it happens has forced sports organizations to develop crisis strategies that can be launched just as quickly as the media can report the news (Fink, 1986).

According to Tymson and Sherman (1996), good crisis management strategies focus on taking care of any causalities, controlling damage, and returning the organization to normal operating conditions as soon as possible (O'Bierne and Ries, 2002). Failure to respond to the crisis often results in unwanted and negative reactions. For instance, emotion is a response that can affect the result of a crisis or scandal. While emotion often helps crisis situations, it can be very damaging, as well. The media frequently uses emotion to create newsworthy angles during crises, knowing that it attracts audience interest. According to Walsh (1997):."..people's often astounding willingness to publicly express emotional pain is matched by the audience's readiness to listen

" Therefore, effective crisis management must respond to an incident before the media uses it to create negative emotions in the public.

This paper aims to clarify the importance of crisis management in sport marketing operations. Further, the paper will describe how sports organizations can use communications strategies to combat the negative affects of a crisis situation.

Value of Crisis Management

The value of having an effective crisis communications plan cannot be underestimated. In sports organizations, the investment in this plan by management team is usually repaid many times over when they are called upon to use it (Hoffman, 1999). Time is usually a major priority when a crisis breaks. The ability to refer to this plan and start doing the right things immediately saves organizations a great deal of pain and aggravation down the road. Without such a plan, companies can quickly lose control while they decide who needs to be called and what message needs to be sent.

In the sports marketing department, a crisis management plan is key to the success of the department, as well as the entire organization (Hoffman, 1999). During crisis time, leaders of the organization will see how the marketing team responds to this crisis. If the department is unprepared, management will not be impressed. Such incompetence will leave them wondering if they should trust the department in the future. On the other hand, a team that quickly implements a well thought-out crisis communications plan can actually take advantage of a limited window of opportunity.

An excellent example of this occurred in January 1998 in the skiing industry (Hoffman, 1999). Within five days of each other, both Michael Kennedy and Sonny Bono were killed in skiing accidents. The natural tendency of the media may have been to create fears about the declining safety of the sport. Taken to an extreme, this may have had a negative effect on the industry.

Fortunately, the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) had a crisis plan developed that they could immediately implement. The plan included the compilation of statistics that proved that the accident rate continued to average 36 fatalities a year for the past few years.

Within hours of the first reports of Kennedy's death, the Association faxed nine pages of information to the media and to their member ski resorts (Hoffman, 1999). As a result, the resorts could respond properly to local media inquiries with consistent information. They also were able to quickly contact a Ph.D. At the Rochester Institute of Technology who had studied ski injuries for 30 years. He was offered to the media as an objective authority on the issue.

The NSAA was protected from seeing these two tragic accidents spiral into a crisis for the whole industry because they had a crisis plan ready (Hoffman, 1999). Immediately after the accident, they did not have to create a plan, find the statistics, locate authoritative third-party source and figure out how to contact him. Instead, they had the plan in order and could immediately respond to the crisis. The message that was eventually communicated during the fiasco was that skiing was a relatively safe sport if the skiers followed basic safety practices.

Strategies for Success

When it comes to athletes, the public has high expectations (Hessert, 1997). They are expected to win and set a good example for their fans. Athletes are expected to deal with the media, which means that athletic organizations face a variety of public relations (PR) issues.

According to Hessert (1997), prevention is the key to avoiding PR disasters. To be prevention oriented, sports organizations must consider members' characters as much as their talent. Hessert lists seven survival skills for crisis management strategies:

Don't be satisfied being the cleanup team: try to position yourself/department to offer insight into ramifications of decisions (before they're made).

Be prevention oriented by applying a "vigilant thinking" approach to the inevitable crises. Look inside and outside of your organization for signs of trouble.

Be prepared to clean up. Have a comprehensive crisis plan (if representing a corporation or team), and customize the plan to match your specific needs.

Start with sound strategy then follow-up with response tactics. it's easy to get swallowed up by tactics and miss the big picture.

Do what you can to build a well of good will with your primary publics in advance. You'll probably have to draw from that well.

Do everything you can to retain power by establishing yourself/department/company as the primary source of accurate, up-to-date information.

Provide appropriate media training in advance of your next crisis.

There is consistently disruptive behavior vs. A single situation involving a personality that provides the media with scandals (Hessert, 1997). Thus, sports organizations must be prepared to deal with both. Basketball star Dennis Rodman has been fined $25,000, suspended at least 11 games, and ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation after assaulting a cameraman. Figure skater Oksana Baiul was recently charged with reckless endangerment and driving under the influence after his car skidded into a ditch. These types of incidents can affect the reputations of athletes and the organizations of which they are members.

For dealing with these types of situations, Hessert (1997) offers the following crisis response tips to sports marketing teams:

Document everything.

Have a reserve budget to draw on in times of crisis (i.e., staff overtime, etc.).

Have a pre-approved list of outside resources to call upon if necessary (with access numbers 24 hr's. A day, 7 days a week).

Anticipate and prepare for ripple effects.

Don't rely on titles; rely on talent when naming members of your crisis team.

Make sure the Crisis Plan is easy to find, understand and use.

If the company has a morals clause, be prepared to use it.

Crisis Plan in Action

Recently, Oklahoma University (OU) athletic director Joe Castiglione was forced to deal with the unpleasant yet crucial aspect of collegiate athletic administration: crisis management (Forde, 2004). The news that senior defensive tackle, team captain, honor-roll student and All-America candidate Dusty Dvoracek had been kicked off the team was embraced by the media and was promoted from the sports page to the front page of the Daily Oklahoman on a Saturday morning.

The decision was made following Dvoracek's involvement in an alleged altercation with a friend the Saturday before (Forde, 2004). The friend had come to visit Dvoracek from his home state of Texas, and watched the Sooners' 63-13 rout of Houston -- then the two went partying, and the party got out of hand. According to local media reports, the friend arrived at a Norman hospital unconscious and wound up in intensive care for five days. He later recovered.

According to Forde (2004): "Dvoracek had already been subjected to undisclosed discipline after an incident last March, in… READ MORE

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