CRISIS AND RISK MANAGEMENT
CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING CONSTITUTIONAL CRISES CORRUPTION & BRIBERY OIL PRICE SHOCK SITE CLOSURE EARTHQUAKES MIGRATION FISCAL INSTABILITY PUBLIC HEATH EPIDEMIC TRAVEL DISRUPTION DISEASE OUTBREAKS TERRORISM CYBERSECURITY BREACHES SUPPLY CHAIN INCIDENTS POWER FAILURE FUEL SHORTAGE
ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE UNEXPECTED? IT FAILURE
JOB LOSSES
Crises occur when risk meets vulnerability. And your reputation depends on how you respond. Crisp, transparent and rapid communication under fire takes mission critical planning.
Whether you need crisis training, planning, NATIONAL MOURNING PROTESTS MEDIA LEAKS monitoring, counsel or 24/7 support, our priority ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER is to protect your reputation. We work to control WORKFORCE AND TALENT SHORTFALLS your message in today’s unpredictable, TICKETING FRAUD cross-platform media environment. TRADING STANDARDS AND COMPLIANCE WORKER WELFARE ISSUES PUBLIC ORDER DISRUPTION BRAND PROTECTION SOCIAL MEDIA TAKEOVER MEDIA INTERVIEWS MILITARY COUPS BOMB THREATS WHISTLE BLOWERS AVIATION DISRUPTION COURT CASES EXTREME WEATHER SHARE PRICE DROPS
CRISIS EXPERTISE For almost 20 years our experts have been preventing reputational fall out from crises and issues facing corporations and individuals across the globe.
The work we undertake is often cross-border and complex. Our team is adept at working at speed in times of uncertainty – delivering clear, considered and commercially intelligent counsel whatever the brief. We have served as trusted advisors on a multitude of reputational issues, including cyber attacks, mega-event management, job losses and corporate restructuring, food scares, extreme weather, media leaks, supply chain issues, product recalls, commercial disputes, corruption allegations and terrorist attacks.
And as one of the world’s leading independent agencies, we work with best-in-class partners in our international ecosystem to react swiftly to in-market issues. Our global crisis experts are highly skilled in the forensic analysis of organisations’ risks and threats.
PROTECT Build your bespoke crisis package from the product list below. For more information or advice, please email our crisis team on crisis@hanovercomms.com
STORM CHASER
WHITE SWAN ALERTS
PREPARE
Our Storm Chaser tests the robustness of crisis plans, structures and processes. From desktop crisis training to full-blown 48-hour onsite simulation training, your staff and crisis collateral will be tested in a real-time online and offline attack on your organisation.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb famously labelled occurrences that cannot be predicted as “Black Swan” events. Our White Swan Alerts give you an early warning system when you most need it.
RESILIENCE TESTING Our experts work closely with clients to identify risks and threats that could – without preparation – lead to severe commercial and reputational damage. The Resilience Testing package uses gap & data analysis, media & digital audits and forensic research to determine your organisation’s crisis preparedness. Workshops with our senior team will also assess executive resilience to make sure leaders and spokespeople are comfortable operating under fire. Vulnerability audits are a critical part of assessing crisis preparedness. The audit includes a diagnostic check of existing materials and in-depth interviews across businesses. Assessments and insight are then developed into a crisis management tool, used to benchmark and track crisis resilience in line with business objectives.
DARK WEBSITES A Dark Website is a dormant site ready to be activated at a moment’s notice when bad news strikes. Your reputation depends on sending the right message, through the right channels to external and internal audiences during uncertain times. Our digital team will help you:
Put a system in place to allow you to keep Dark Websites up to date Cross link to and from your main corporate website, Dark Website and social media channels Build a suite of tools to streamline updates such as RSS feeds, email subscription services or micro-blogging channels Assess bandwidth to make sure your site can cope with large surges in traffic Design a keyword strategy and PPC campaign to direct traffic and better control your message
The bespoke session will:
Assess what level of stress-testing your team is ready for to maximise productivity
White Swan Alerts monitor the 24/7 rolling online conversation in real time. The alerts act as a tool to identify the first rumblings of a crisis before it hits, or to track a rise in negative conversations.
Build understanding and confidence of using crisis process to handle complex issues in high-stress situations
The service covers all “open” social domains, using keywords and tailored phrases approved by clients in advance. This empowers our crisis and digital experts to analyse all mentions and flag relevant issues, including sentiment tracking.
Identify weak spots in processes and protocols to build resilience
ROLLING
Simulate the full gamut of exposure and potential interrogation including phone calls, social media, journalist door-stepping, rolling broadcast news and print media
Weekly alerts include an executive summary, key quotes, influencer reactions and “by the numbers” online analysis to track the reputation of individuals or organisations
Physically test war room operations on a regional, national and global level
Monthly (or ad-hoc) reports include deep analysis of a particular issue, executive summary, key quotes, influencer reactions, “by the numbers” and red flags/ recommendations to mitigate against potential issues
Scenarios and media training sessions are designed by journalists and senior consultants experienced at operating in uncertain and hostile environments and using exhaustive research. Film crews, actors and media trainers are used to push teams beyond their comfort zones – all in a safe, controlled environment.
CRISIS Daily reports can be delivered as often as required during a crisis by our dedicated team of digital strategists
PROTECT SAFETY NET The Safety Net is there to handle any crisis, any time. You will have access to our experts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As soon as the hotline rings, we will deploy our crisis team. A bespoke phone number will automatically divert to a senior consultant’s phone first, enabling us to act swiftly to contain an issue from the outset.
PROMOTE EXECUTIVE CRISIS TRAINING
ART OF ENGAGEMENT TRAINING
SELECT COMMITTEE TRAINING
A 90-minute high-octane media training session to put your spokespeople through their paces. Communicating well under fire is critical to managing your reputation and controlling the message during a crisis. Our trainers have prepared clients for some of the hardest hitting broadcast and print interviews – including the BBC’s HARDtalk and Newsnight, Radio 4’s Today, CNBC’s Squawk Box and Sky News’s Ian King Live – for global clients. During this practical session, which can be activated within 24 hours of a crisis hitting, our professional trainers will help you develop key messages and test them under the duress of broadcast and print interviews.
We help leaders communicate better, ensuring their reputation is optimal and their organisation benefits. We don’t do traditional media training. Instead, our unique Art of Engagement sessions teach trainees how to engage audiences to communicate messages in an effective and memorable manner, no matter the situation faced. We work with senior businesspeople, politicians and organisations from across the globe to ensure what they say and how they communicate is engaging and effective. Our sessions are highly interactive, using state-of-the–art broadcast equipment and featuring broadcast clips from some of the world’s best communicators, including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, as well as some of the worst. Our sessions cover everything from one-on-one conversations to media interviews and speeches.
From the smallest sub-committee inquiry to the biggest set-piece showdown, preparation in advance of a select committee hearing is business critical. Personal and corporate reputations can be undermined; in fact even the most experienced communicators can struggle to get their message across in such a challenging forum. We leave no stone unturned in preparing clients for oral evidence sessions. We provide mock-sessions with seasoned select committee veterans, taking time to understand the key issues. We do not hold back on our questioning. Our aim is to ensure that when our clients go into that committee room they have the knowledge and confidence to deliver their messages effectively – with no surprises.
CHARLES LEWINGTON Chief Executive
GAVIN MEGAW Crisis Lead MICHAEL PRESCOTT Group Managing Director, Corporate and Political Strategy
OUR CRISIS
SIR RONNIE FLANAGAN Security Advisor
STEVE RICHARDS Media Advisor
KEMI AKINDELE Head of Digital
Sir Ronnie Flanagan is the former Chief Constable of Northern Ireland and Chief Inspector, who led a major review of British policing. He is one of the United Kingdom’s most senior former policemen. Sir Ronnie is widely seen as one the world’s leading experts on counter-terrorist strategy and is an expert in security, intelligence and integrity. For two years he advised the Abu Dhabi police force and is currently chairman of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption & Security Unit.
A distinguished broadcaster and columnist, Steve Richards provides political, media and policy analysis for Hanover’s clients.
Kemi specialises in managing online reputation for a broad range of corporate and consumer organisations, international NGOs and governments. She has also advised a number of organisations including Nestle, AB InBev, Novartis, PwC and Macmillan on online reputation, social media management and crisis preparedness.
COUNCIL Charles Lewington founded Hanover on the back of a high profile career in politics and journalism. As Press Secretary to John Major, he handled the European crisis that engulfed the Tory party, several terrorist incidents and the government’s response to the outbreak of ‘mad cow disease.’ In his 20 years as a consultant he has advised CEOs of rail companies involved in fatal accidents and public inquiries, handled product recalls for pharmaceutical companies, defended NHS bosses facing hostile Daily Mail campaigns and advised hedge fund managers under fire during the financial crisis. He often works closely with the leading City law firms assisting with corruption or data misuse allegations, and has particular expertise in management of major international events involving political and corporate leaders. Charles was awarded OBE for political services in 1997.
Terrorist attacks in Egypt. Front-page leaks across leading global media titles. Kidnappings in Africa. Political change in the UK. Site closures for major brands across Europe. Incidents at Olympic and political events attended by world leaders in South America, Central Asia and Western Europe. Gavin has successfully planned for and enacted crisis communications procedures for these and many more challenging situations, protecting the reputation of his clients. A crisis communications thoughtleader and regular public speaker on the topic, Gavin works with the world’s best known companies, governments and organisations to predict and prevent significant issues. He previously chaired the PRCA’s Crisis Communications Group for several years and is Hanover’s Managing Director of Corporate & Brand and lead crisis practitioner.
Michael has handled many crises and crisis training exercises, through his previous spell in consultancy and as Director of Corporate Affairs at UK communications giant BT. He counselled Cadbury during their “salmonella in chocolate” incident in 2006; advised British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) over several incidents in the noughties; and ran crisis drills both for BNFL and London Underground infrastructure company Tubelines. At BT, he led crisis training ahead of the London 2012 Olympics and was in charge of the company’s public response to numerous outages, legal and contractual issues, working closely with the Group CEO, chief legal counsel and others. As a former senior editor at the Sunday Times and national broadcaster, Michael brings to issueshandling an intimate knowledge of likely media and political responses to any delicate situation.
He has written columns for the Guardian, Independent, New Statesman, Times, Financial Times and Spectator. Steve’s TV work includes presenting GMTV’s The Sunday Programme, as well as a number of documentaries for Channel 4, and appearing on BBC 1’s Sunday Politics panel. He also occasionally presents BBC Radio 4’s The Week in Westminster.
The Hanover Crisis Council has unrivalled experience at handing complex, high-profile issues on a global scale. We have brought together bestin-class advisors with deep knowledge of the Government, security services, media and business who can be called on for senior support during times of uncertainty.
Social media has a reputation for being an unpredictable factor during a crisis, however, by anticipating thresholds, scenarios and outcomes, Kemi supports organisations identify situations before they develop via always-on monitoring. Kemi has experience with product recalls, workers’ rights issue, factory closure.
For more information, or to create your own bespoke crisis package contact: Gavin Megaw Crisis Lead crisis@hanovercomms.com +44 (0) 20 7400 4480
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