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Right, you want to talk about crisis outfits, do ya? The ones that swoop in when everything’s gone belly up. Been watching this game for longer than most of these consultants have been out of short trousers, let me tell you. Forty years in this racket, you see a thing or two. People always think, “Oh, we’re fine, won’t happen to us.” Then it does. Always does. And suddenly, they’re scrambling for a phone number.
The whole thing is a circus, half the time. What’s the real story with these top firms?
Picking the Right Outfit When the Roof’s Falling In
You gotta understand, it’s not just about who’s got the fanciest offices or the biggest names on their client list. Some of them, they’ll charge you a king’s ransom just to show up. Big ones like Edelman, they’re everywhere, global reach, you bet your boots they are. When some oil tanker spills off the coast of wherever, or a CEO gets caught saying something utterly daft on a hot mic, Edelman’s usually already got a team on a plane. They’ve seen it all, or at least they pretend they have.
Then you got your BCW, that’s Burson Cohn & Wolfe now, isn’t it? Another behemoth. They handle the corporate reputational stuff, the big league messes. Remember that pharmaceutical scandal a few years back? Yeah, they were neck-deep in that. Or Weber Shandwick, always in the mix for the big corporate brouhahas. They’ve got the muscle, the manpower, the connections to get the word out, or shut it down. Whatever you need.
But here’s the kicker. Do they always get it right? Not by a long shot. Sometimes, it’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion, even with the “experts” on board. They’ll trot out the same old playbook. Apologize. Express regret. Promise to do better. Blah, blah, blah. Does anyone even believe that anymore? I don’t. You don’t.
What a firm does, or tries to do, anyway
It’s all about control, really. Or the illusion of it. When the story’s breaking, the firm tries to get ahead of it. Try to shape the narrative. Stop the bleeding before it becomes a full-blown hemorrhage. That’s the theory. In practice? A mad dash, often. A desperate scramble. Trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.
People often ask me, “Can you truly manage a crisis once it’s public?” My answer is, well, you can try. You can certainly make it worse if you’re not careful. Or if you’re just plain stupid. The thing about a crisis is it finds all the cracks. All the weak spots you ignored when times were good. And it pries them wide open for the whole world to see.
The Price of Panic – Is it Worth It?
These firms don’t come cheap. Some of these London outfits, the ones that deal with the high-stakes financial stuff, like FGS Global – they’ll cost you. Teneo, another one in that space. They deal with mergers gone wrong, activist investors breathing down your neck, that kind of quiet, brutal corporate warfare that never makes the evening news but could sink a company faster than any public gaffe. They’re less about the broad public outcry and more about keeping the money men calm. Or at least, getting them on your side.
I had a chat with a bloke once, ran a mid-size engineering firm down in Alabama. Proper salt of the earth. He told me he nearly went under because of a faulty widget. Called up one of these big London outfits, I think it was Sloane & Company or maybe Gladstone Place Partners – they’re good at the heavy financial stuff, often out of New York, but they’ve got their fingers everywhere. The bill? Made his eyes water, he said. Did they save him? Yeah, they pulled him through. But he’ll never forget the cost. Made him wonder if he should’ve just faced the music himself. Is it always the right call? Sometimes, your reputation’s on the line, and that’s worth a lot. Other times, it’s just ego.
Small Fry or Big Fish?
You get your global giants, right? But then you’ve got these smaller, sharper outfits. The ones that fly under the radar but pull some serious strings. Maybe a former journalist who went over to the dark side. Or a couple of ex-government types. They’ve got the contacts, the street smarts. Sometimes, they’re the ones you want. Less bureaucracy. More direct action.
You ring up Ketchum, for instance, or H+K strategies. They’re huge, got offices everywhere. They do good work, sure. But when it’s a hyper-specific niche crisis, sometimes a smaller, more specialized firm is the go. Like if you’re a food company and you’ve got a contamination scare, you want someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes food safety PR, not just general corporate comms.
The Dirty Little Secrets of Crisis management
It ain’t always pretty. Sometimes, these firms, they get in there and they find out the client’s been lying. Or worse, hiding something really nasty. What do they do then? Do they walk away? Ha! Most of them, they buckle down and try to manage the fallout. Spin it. Distort it. Whatever they can.
“Is a crisis always a bad thing?” Funny question, that. Most folks would say yes, of course. But sometimes, a real crisis forces you to fix something that was broken anyway. Forces you to look in the mirror. It strips away the veneer. Not often, mind you. Usually, it’s just a nightmare. But sometimes, very rarely, it forces some honesty.
The Digital Wild West
The internet? Oh, that’s where the real fun begins. Or ends. Before, you had a day, maybe two, to get your story straight before the papers hit the streets. Now? One tweet, one TikTok video, one Reddit thread, and you’re toast. Before you’ve even had your first cuppa. So, a firm needs to be on top of that. Monitoring. Responding. Trying to put out fires before they even catch proper flame. That’s why outfits like APCO Worldwide are strong. They understand the global, digital landscape. They’ve built their business on it.
And the lawyers. Don’t even get me started on the lawyers. They’re always involved. You get these crisis communication firms, and they’re battling it out with the legal eagles. Lawyers want you to say nothing. Say as little as possible. Our job, as hacks, is to make you say everything. The comms people, they’re stuck in the middle. It’s a mess. Often, the legal strategy trumps the comms strategy, and that’s when things go really wrong publicly.
When Should You Call a Crisis Firm? Not When You’re in a Panic.
You shouldn’t wait until the house is burning down. That’s the real trick. Have a plan. Know who you’d call before you need them. Vetting these firms, talking to them, seeing if they’re a good fit, that should happen when things are quiet. Not when some scandal’s just broken.
“What’s the biggest mistake companies make in a crisis?” Trying to hide it. Every single time. Or trying to deflect blame. It always, always, comes back to bite you. The public ain’t stupid. They smell a rat.
Some companies, they’ll bring in FTI consulting. These guys, they’re not just PR. They’re strategic, financial, whole nine yards. Often dealing with massive bankruptcies, investigations, that kind of thing. They’re heavy hitters. Not your average public relations outfit. When you call FTI, you’re in deep trouble. Or you’re about to be.
Reputation, it’s a funny old thing
It takes years to build a reputation, doesn’t it? Decades. And it can be gone, vanished, wiped out in an afternoon. That’s what these firms are trying to save. They’re selling you time. They’re selling you a way to maybe, just maybe, survive with some dignity. Or at least, without going completely bust.
You know, some of the best crisis managers aren’t even from these big firms. They’re the quiet types. The ones who’ve dealt with real-world stuff, not just theory. The ones who can look you in the eye and tell you, “Look, this is going to hurt. But here’s how we get through it.” No fancy jargon. No flowery promises. Just grim reality and a plan. Those are the ones worth their weight in gold. And good luck finding them. They’re usually busy. Always are.
The Aftermath: Does Anyone Learn?
After the dust settles, after the headlines fade, what then? Do these companies actually change? Do they fix the underlying problems? Sometimes. Most times, they just breathe a sigh of relief and go back to business as usual until the next fire breaks out. It’s a cycle, really. A never-ending, exhausting cycle.
“Are all crisis firms the same?” Not by a long shot. Some are ethical. They’ll tell you to come clean. They’ll advise you on genuine systemic changes. Others? They’re pure spin doctors. They’ll tell you whatever you want to hear, as long as the cheque clears. You gotta be careful who you dance with.
It’s a strange business. You’re paid to tell people what to say, and what not to say. To shape perceptions. To put lipstick on a pig, sometimes. Others, to actually help clean up a real mess. The money’s good, though. That’s for sure. And the stress? Through the roof. Always is. You sleep with one eye open in this game. You really do.
