Tag: communication

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Planning your Crisis Communication Plan

Crisis Communication PR Plan for events industry

With the events industry currently facing uncertain times trying to plan for the future is not as straight forward as we once enjoyed. However, we will come out of this situation and now is the time to ensure that we are better equipped to deal with unprecedented changes in the future. We have put together advice to help shape your Crisis Communication Plan for the events industry.

Knowing what to do at a time of crisis has never been more relevant. If you are an event planner you may already have your own crisis management policy to follow, and the venues you use for events will have their own crisis plans and health and safety policies to adhere to. But what is equally important, now more than ever before is having a carefully prepared crisis communication plan. 

A crisis communication plan is critical to aid in any incident from terrorist attacks, to fire outbreaks, illness, natural disasters or incidents such as the Coronavirus outbreak that we are facing currently. As the virus has spread over the past few weeks causing mass cancellations and uncertainty about how businesses have communicated has varied significantly. The ones that have done it best have been well prepared and rehearsed, so we shouldn’t leave it to chance. Putting the work into your crisis communication plan now will serve you well in the future and it should be a crucial part of your overall event strategy. 

Who are your key audiences

Firstly, when thinking about drawing up your plan think about the different audiences you will be dealing with including on-site suppliers, security, speakers, exhibitors as well as press and attendees. Once you have identified the groups assign one of your staff to relationship manage these so they are then responsible for communicating to them in the event of a crisis – this ensures that you will not leave anyone out if it is an emergency. These key audiences should have the contact information which needs to regularly updated. 

Communication channels

How will you communicate with your audience? Quick access to concise information is vital in a crisis and will protect your reputation if you are seen to respond quickly. Social media is at the touch of a button 24/7 and is great to communicate with but you need to bear in mind that although your reach may be wide, it may not reach YOUR specific audience so other forms of communication are required such as phone calls, emails, and your website. Ensure you have access to any display screens at the event itself so you can communicate immediately to your event attendees. For PR, your website and social media is the best method to reach journalists who will be able to spread your messages widely. In the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster, mobile networks may be down so it is crucial to identify alternative communication channels and have contingency plans in place for every potential situation. 

Your crisis communication plan 

Once you have done your research into what is going to work, now is the time to put your plan together. In such fast-paced and changing times, there is no way to predict what challenges you will face so have your crisis communications plans pre-approved for each potential situation. For each situation collate the key messages that you need to communicate with each audience and how you are going to do it. 

Lastly, build these scenarios into your team training by getting them to rehearse real-life simulations of the different crisis situations outlined in your plan. This will help your staff be prepared to act calmly and confidently if the situation arises in the future and will help you grow together as a team. 

Keep up-to-date with all the latest industry insights and news by reading our EDGE news section.

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Proceed, postpone or cancel?

Decisions need to be made about forthcoming events that are being organised, whether to continue as usual, postpone them until later in the year or cancel them entirely. We saw yesterday that Imex has cancelled their event in Frankfurt in May. So, with the spread of Coronavirus, how should you come to a decision how to proceed in the next few months?

The first consideration is to make an informed decision, based on facts. We work in a collaborative and supportive industry and everyone understands the value of the global events industry. The most important factor is making a choice that is best for the business and whether the company’s objectives can be met without the event or if there is reduced attendance. What is the event’s purpose and what are the alternatives? Once this decision has been made, then the legal and insurance factors come in to play, but these should not be the driving factor whether the event should go ahead.

Force Majeure

The question is whether damages have to be paid if the conference is cancelled. So, does Force Majeure apply? It does if the event is illegal, impossible or commercially impracticable to hold. A recent example is a law passed by the Swiss government prohibiting public events of more than 1,000 people which caused the cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show. Some other considerations are if the city/country is in a state of emergency, flights have been suspended or travel has been prohibited. Fear is not force majeure.

Cancellation or postponement

Establish the critical mass of attendance for the purpose of the event to be successful. If 10% of attendees cannot be there it probably won’t have a significant impact, but if 30% or more don’t attend then that’s a different situation. Set a date when the decision will be made whether to proceed or not, considering travel arrangements, event set up, suppliers etc and make a well-thought-out business decision.

Contracts

Check all contracts: venues, DMCs, a/v providers, caterers, other suppliers, as well as attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. Is there an event cancellation policy in place and what will this mean? Take advice about whether the force majeure provisions apply, your legal team can argue about cancellation and attrition fees. It’s in everyone’s interest to proceed with the event, so if numbers are reduced then speak to the venue about minimum attendee numbers, accommodation and the spend on food and beverage because it is in everyone’s interest to negotiate. If there’s a new agreement make sure you have an addendum signed by both parties. If additional hygiene practices are required, find out what the venue is going to put in place and get these agreed in writing.

Insurance

There are two factors here. Firstly, the event insurance, check your general liability insurance, which should cover you if an attendee becomes ill at an event and have a claim against your company. Does this specifically cover COVID-19? Some insurance companies excluded COVID-19 from their policies since January 2020 as it became more prevalent. Secondly, there is business travel insurance which may come into effect if a company imposes travel restrictions to their employees.

Crisis Management and Communication

There should already be a plan in place and even if it isn’t entirely appropriate to the current circumstances, then elements may help to manage the situation.

Communicate with the stakeholders separately and stick to the facts. Keep the message simple and clear. If you are proceeding, then tell people about the hygiene practices onsite and how the event will be managed. Update any statements as necessary before and during the event.

This article does not constitute legal advice and we advise organisers to take independent legal guidance which is appropriate to their circumstances. This article is not intended to be relied upon to make specific decisions.

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Top Tips to boost meeting attendance

Meetings and conferences are vital to effective communication and a good experience is fundamental to your plans to connect both internally with your colleagues and externally with clients.

Any event that you hold will be a demonstration of how efficient your company is, and engagement is vital to driving attendance. We all know that events are not easy to plan or manage but in the competitive and time-poor environment that we work in it is essential to impress the participants.

So how do you achieve the desired outcome from your conference or meeting? Here are a few tips to help …

Research

If you’ve held this event before, make sure that you incorporate the feedback, both good and bad. That’s not only from attendees, but also the speakers and staff. They will all give you advice to improve the next. Do a SWOT analysis and check that the information you are providing is relevant and new so that attendees learn something that’s made it worthwhile leaving their desks.

Understand the audience

Who are you talking to? What have they achieved, what problems are they having and what do they want to get out of this event? What do they like and dislike?

This relates to the previous point about doing your homework, but you will also use the information to tailor the experience.

Get the audience involved

This isn’t easy when planning an event for a group of people. You can get the attendees involved before, during and afterwards by using tools such as surveys and polls. This is can valuable source of topic suggestions and will help with the agenda. At the event, ask a question to the audience and then discuss the answers to judge the feeling in the room.

Ask for help

Make the experience as easy as possible for the speakers who have agreed to help by giving their time and sharing their insights. Any pre-event surveys can highlight trends or subjects that they will cover in their presentations, which also makes sure that the audience gets the answers they want.
It might we worth finding an external expert on a particular topic who can add value. Or you might have someone who is a thought-leader within your organisation, who regularly publishes blogs, is active on social media and is highly regarded as a specialist in their field.

Planning

Preparation is essential, so share as much as you can with your team and also with the attendees beforehand. If anything changes then make sure that everyone knows immediately and has clear instructions about how to proceed. Onsite you can use the latest technology to deliver real-time notifications and dynamic alerts.

Keep everyone engaged

49% of people multitask by doing unrelated work during meetings and events. Make sure you keep everyone focused by delivering excellent content in an exciting way that really benefits the attendee. You want them to walk away knowing it was worth their while leaving the office to attend your event.

Feedback

Every meeting planner wants to collect insightful feedback so make sure attendees can deliver it in an easy, convenient way. The technology tools available now can provide you with quick and easy surveys, delivered electronically and these will allow attendees time to share their opinions, save you time and help plan the next event.

Follow up after the event and respond to contributors so everyone knows that their attendance was worthwhile and keep the engagement going afterwards. If you can create a sense of community then that will take you forwards to the next event.

We all know that meetings, conferences and events are a great contributor to successful communication, but they’re not easy to plan or manage. Hopefully, you can use these tips to improve engagement and build long-lasting relationships with attendees.