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Best in Show
Account Executive at Speed, Phoebe Frost, recently took part in a crisis simulation to see if she had what it takes to defuse an escalating social media situation.
Last week, while many were out enjoying the heatwave, I headed down to sunny Exeter to take part in an exciting social media crisis simulation with the PRCA South West.
Working in teams of both in-house and agency PR professionals we had to defuse a fictional online crisis for luxury homecare brand, Ashland who was facing claims of employee bullying and harassment. Like so many crises we see today, the conversation had escalated from Twitter and fuelled the debate which naturally gained interest from the media.
As a result, it was all hands-on deck as we monitored our comms channels, drafted reactive statements, liaised with key journalists and communicated with employees to control the situation quickly and effectively. And all within the space of an hour.
What’s more, the simulation worked in real time, with a team working behind the scenes to give us real human interaction and scoring us on our response. So, whilst the situation wasn’t necessarily real, the pressure certainly was!
The great news is our team won and I came away with some great insight for when a real situation strikes. Check out my top tips below!