Tilly (or Tilikum) has had a somewhat eventful existence that has spanned several locations in captivity and multiple occasions of frightful outbursts with his trainers, but none like the one which took place this week – spelling fatal tragedy for one of Sea World’s best trainers, Dawn Brancheau. 

As the news of the trainer’s death-by-whale-attack spread across the globe (within minutes reports had reached CNN status), the more than 10,000 followers of Sea World’s Shamu mouthpiece on Twitter, @Shamu, wondered what would happen to the real whale’s virtual mascot. Known for his funny “tweets” and humorous comments, any comment from him would have been inappropriate and Sea World recognized that. After multiple days of silence, he tweeted his last tweet. 

At this difficult time, @Shamu will not be active. For Twitter updates follow @SeaWorld_Parks. http://bit.ly/b0oU3l 

It’s truly sad to see Twitterville a little quieter without this witty voice, but as a PR professional, I completely agree with Sea World’s decision to, at least temporarily, suspend the account that mimics their world famous whale and instead focus on their overall theme parks. As Orlando Sentinel Reporter Beth Kassab smartly commented, “this heart-wrenching crisis will ultimately reveal the strength and resiliency of a brand that establishes a loyal customer base that feels a more personal connection to a business.” 

While I’m not privy to its crisis communications plan for when an event such as this happens, Sea World has done a brilliant job with its social media efforts and is doing its best to respond to tragedy by scaling back appropriately. I suspect their brand will recover as a result. Who knows, someday we may once again hear the voice of @Shamu again… 

If you find yourself in the midst of a crisis situation and would like to speak to the area’s reactive communications experts, please contact Massey Communications at 407-581-4222 or info@masseycommunications.com

McGwire, who along with Sammie Sosa electrified fans back in 1998 as they chased what was then baseball’s Holy Grail of records, has finally admitted what most everyone already knew … while he was belting all of those home runs, he was using steroids.  How sad … for him, for baseball fans and for America’s “National Pastime.”  

From a public relations point of view, he finally did what he should have done, and more importantly, what he could have done nearly ten years earlier!  

Why are people reluctant to admit non-criminal wrongdoing in a timely manner and ask for forgiveness? These are similar circumstances to those of Pete Rose, the greatest hitter in baseball history, who literally gambled away his reputation and legacy and then repeatedly denied it until finally owning up many years too late. 

Often people come to us in “crisis” mode looking for a way to escape from the ramifications associated with either the perception or reality of wrong behavior. We call it crisis management, but what it really boils down to is they’re hoping we can help them not be held responsible for what they’ve been accused of in the court of public opinion. 

A natural reflex in many of these cases is the old “duck and cover” … hide, say nothing, or deny, deny, deny. That didn’t work for Mark McGwire, it didn’t work for Pete Rose and in all honesty it doesn’t work in most situations of this nature. In fact, more often than not our advice is for the client to own his or her circumstances. This means accepting responsibility, apologizing when it’s appropriate and asking for forgiveness. Most importantly, they have to do these things immediately! 

Sure, there are always aggravating or mitigating circumstances, reasons (not excuses), and explanations. It’s been said that when you have to explain, you’ve already lost in the public’s perception. Maybe, but when you hide, evade, deny (except, of course, when you’re wrongly accused) or try to verbally slither between the facts, the outcome is seldom what you’d like it to be. It’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up.  

Based on his accomplishments, Mark McGwire should probably be in baseball’s Hall of Fame. So, for that matter, should Pete Rose, but both of these men succumbed to the belief that they could break the rules and then escape responsibility.  It’s good that both of them have finally come clean, but neither should expect an invitation to Cooperstown anytime soon.

You can call them “reactive” or “defensive” or, as most in our industry do, “crisis” communication plans.  Whatever you call it, it’s something that virtually every organization that does business of any kind with any public should have in place, in advance and in easy reach. 

While working recently on a reactive situation (my words of choice) I realized that the elements of a solid plan are not at all complicated and shouldn’t require a great deal of tedious time-consuming consideration.   Indeed, many of the aspects of a good crisis plan are the same as those of a proactive communication plan.  The two most important considerations are to dispense ONLY accurate information, and to do it in a timely manner that is most beneficial to the organization. 

Too many leaders in the midst of a difficult situation lose sight of the fact that the deadlines imposed by members of the media are or should be of only marginal consideration.  Two of the most important phrases any spokesperson should know in the heat of the moment are, “I don’t know” and “I’ll get back to you.”  

There’s much more that goes into a strategically developed defensive plan, but more important than the “what” of a plan, are the clear and simple facts that organizations need to understand the nature and implications of a 24-hour news cycle, that negative information can be tactically detrimental but not necessarily strategically devastating, and that having a plan in place and then keeping it updated will save time, will clarify internal conversations and can prevent meaningful and long term damage to a business’s or organization’s image, reputation, revenue and profit. 

And they don’t have to cost a ton of money, either!

Not to be outdone as a university based in disaster-prone Florida, the University of Florida plan was unsympathetic in its strategy should a zombie attack occur on campus. The plan recommended employees utilize “weapons such as chain saws, baseball bats, and explosives that have been shown to be effective against zombies.” Take that Night of the Living Dead!  

A spokesman from the school stated that the exercise was meant to “add a little bit of levity to disaster preparation discussions.” Levity indeed! Garnering national attention, the plan has helped thrust disaster preparations into the national spotlight. With the spread of H1N1 inundating Americans through media and ongoing disasters occurring throughout the world, the University of Florida’s disaster preparation team is showing they are taking every precaution to protect their students and campus. The only thing missing from their plan is how the zombies would fare against UF Quarterback Tim Tebow! 

Massey Communications has a renowned reputation for crisis communications management and planning, and we believe that you cannot know the value of proper crisis planning until disaster occurs. And the affects of a lack of planning can be, well, disastrous! Contact the experts at our Agency to discuss your crisis planning today.