The Paula Deen Debacle Grabs the Attention of Brittain's Media Agency

Savannah, GA, July 01, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Having a crisis communications management plan in place is an understatement according to Tracy T. Brittain, President-Founder of (BMA) Brittain's Media Agency. "When organizations find themselves in a predicament they scramble to hire a huge P.R. firm that will take the money of the celebrity and not give them quality they deserve," says Brittain. What do you look for in a firm that says they offer Crisis Management? CM is part of the solution, but what about image recovery. It takes time and some agencies can make that happen pretty quickly, depending on the circumstances and some cannot reach the pinnacle of replacing the clients reputation.

Depending on how much damage was done, it might take years. If the accused is in legal hot-water, their reputation may not be restored and their reputation might remain stained for life. One thing can be learned from celebrity examples is; leave crisis management and image recovery to the professionals. They should not try and make statements, comments or videos to try and temper the situation. It can only makes matters worse. Remember, we live in a technological social media savvy environment and a communications professional is the only one who will know how to proceed.

Before any crisis management or image recovery project is started, you have to assess the entire situation by sitting down with all involved and find out what happened, when it happened and why. A meeting with all members involved can help in the research process. Find out what happened, what led up to the events in question, who launched an attack on who, and get all of the particulars of the problem. To restore a person back to greatness, you have to know who they are so-to-speak. Not knowing who you're working with could damage their reputation even further.

When an agency manages aspects of a person's reputation, they need to know all of the facts about the person. The inconsistencies they told in the past, any other persons involved in those inconsistencies. Who knew of the events besides the obvious is a good start. Try to find out what media outlets have they made statements to before you help quantify the solution.

Below are six steps to begin the process of the crisis management plan:

1. Do some homework to assess the entire situation
2. Do you research to see where the story is before trying to resolve the matter
3. Determine what remedy you need to start to break down the problem in the plan
4. Define the issue, by issuing statements to employees not to speak to press of make statements about the problem
5. Create a timelines, write a simple statement in a press release no longer than 50 to 100 words and distribute to the correct audiences.
6. Plan your next solution.

In crisis management, or crisis communication; while the situation is fluid is the time to advise the client not to make any statements that will further damage their reputation. It is best to let the professionals handle the crisis from an objective aspect. Make sure all the facts are in before distributing any statements to press, news or stakeholders. To make a formal statement and pinpoint a spokesperson may take 24 hours. It should not take more than that to prepare to address the issue.

Remember, take control of the situation, research and assess the situation, gather the facts, prepare the strategy, implement tactics and manage the outcomes. The executive staff members should have a crisis management agency to call immediately once a crisis starts. It is better to have the plan in place when you need it, than to need a crisis communications plan and not have one.