Crisis and issues management
Your reputation is everything. It is who you are, how you are perceived and your licence to operate. You ve worked hard to build and protect the reputation of your organisation, and you know that the way you respond to a crisis can either strengthen or destroy your reputational capital as well as your value. In the event of a crisis, small or large, your support must be the best-in-class. Having advised our clients during some of the most high profile crises in recent years, Weber Shandwick is a world leader in reputation management and Aberdeen s most experienced crisis and issues management consultancy. Our team of crisis specialists offer an approach, depth of experience and level of insight that s unrivalled in Aberdeen and across Scotland. And here we ll tell you why.
We are where you are we re local and we re global Weber Shandwick is one of the world s leading public relations firms and the only truly global practice with an office in Aberdeen. With over 3000 consultants across 81 markets, we are where you need us. We combine an unrivalled international network with locally based experts to offer our clients the very best in crisis and reputation management. Our global crisis group is on call 24/7 to provide expert counsel and practical support that can be deployed wherever and whenever you need them. North America Canada United States ABERDEEN BELFAST GLASGOW EDINBURGH South America Brazil Mexico DUBLIN MANCHESTER LONDON
EMEA Belgium Egypt France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Kuwait The Netherlands Nigeria Poland Qatar South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Asia Pacific Australia China Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Korea Malaysia Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand
Experienced core team of senior consultants Our team of crisis consultants in Aberdeen have earned their stripes. With an average of 15 years experience and wide ranging backgrounds we ve been on the front line in everything from Piper Alpha to recent North Sea helicopter incidents. Only senior experienced consultants work on our crisis accounts, setting us apart from our competitors and making us the first choice for any issue or crisis that requires calm, experienced counsel.
Scalability and access to the best network of experts globally Your situation might be small, local and manageable, but then again it could be global and spiralling out of control. Our international crisis network allows us to call upon additional consultants across Scotland, the United Kingdom and throughout the world. In addition to our core team in Aberdeen, our established mobilisation chain allows us to assign additional consultants to your team in a matter of hours. We can also deploy senior colleagues from our international offices to wherever you need them across the world. Our clients sleep a little easier knowing that by using Weber Shandwick, they have the world s leading crisis and communication specialists at their fingertips.
We have a robust process Complacency is our enemy. We have a robust process in place to make sure that we re always on our toes, and that our approach is constantly evolving and continuously improving. We don t just rely on our clients to test us through exercise, we have a full calendar of internal training that draws upon the experience of our global experts to make sure that we re absolutely prepared for the worst. EXERCISE TRAIN INCIDENT SUPPORT REPUTATION MANAGEMENT INCIDENT SUPPORT REFINE AUDIT
Quality assurance We are committed to preventing mistakes so that we deliver the best for our clients. That s why our people, processes, systems and equipment are tested and verified regularly by our local team, wider network and independent consultants. We benchmark ourselves against the best.
We can engage at a political level The importance of political engagement in a crisis is often overlooked. Political influencers have the power to make or break your reputation in a crisis situation and it s important that you understand how to navigate these complex relationships. Weber Shandwick is the only public relations firm in Aberdeen with an experienced public affairs team. Our consultants in Aberdeen connect to our teams in Edinburgh, London, Brussels, Washington and across the globe.
Political influencers have the power to make or break your reputation in a crisis situation
Our digital capabilities are second to none Crises drive an insatiable hunger for news. Digital media has transformed the way in which real-time information is available to the outside world leaving companies with a major communications challenge. Weber Shandwick has more than 500 digital, production and social media practitioners around the globe. They can help prepare your digital crisis communications strategy, support its implementation and manage your digital platforms as an emergency unfolds. SOCIAL MEDIA DARK SITES INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Companies that suffer the worst reputational damage are those whose communications responses are tardy, or worse still fail to respond entirely. Our award-winning digital training programme, Firebell, prepares you to provide a rapid and appropriate response: participants actively engage in a real-time online attack of their brand or organisation all in a secure, controlled environment each exercise is founded on research and tailored to your industry and media environment by our digital and crisis professionals firebell insists that participants do just that: participate you will be expected to craft and post content in real-time amidst the imposing parade of comments that organisations typically face during a crisis post-drill, we deliver an assessment that identifies the gaps in your performance, working with you to bolster your strengths in preparation of a real crisis or issue firebell prepares clients so that they know how to react to a crisis online quickly and effectively
We can care for your people The centre of any crisis situation is always people, and their emotional and physical wellbeing is everyone s immediate priority. All Weber Shandwick crisis team members have been trained in providing appropriate support to individuals and families who have been involved in an incident and may face media scrutiny. Our core team is supported by colleagues in seven offices across the UK and Ireland alongside one of the world s biggest networks of wholly owned and subsidiary offices.
We have a proven track record Our global crisis team has provided support and strategic counsel to organisations faced with everything from terrorism to litigation. As trusted advisors and a partner of choice, we have long-standing relationships with leading organisations spanning a number of industries. We have been the go-to crisis and issues management specialists for some of our clients for over a decade. We have delivered unrivalled senior counsel locally and internationally to support: natural and man-made disasters aviation incidents environmental issues financial crises industrial action employment disputes
Contact: Moray Macdonald Managing Director, Scotland mmacdonald@webershandwick.com www.webershandwick.scot @WSScotland