Creating a Crisis-Ready Brand with Melissa Agnes
b'"It\'s not about crisis preparedness. It\'s about how culture approaches challenges." Social media has created a powerful new dynamic for brands of all shapes and sizes. When things are going great, it can be an incredible business communications tool. When things go badly, they call crisis communications expert Melissa Agnes. We discussed crisis planning, culture, responsiveness, and more on this week\'s episode of the On\\xa0Brand podcast.\\nAbout\\xa0Melissa Agnes\\nPresident and co-founder of Agnes + Day Inc., Melissa Agnes helps global brands and governments prevent and manage a wide range of issues and crises. Her client list includes financial organizations, technology companies, healthcare organizations, government agencies, cities and municipalities, energy companies, global non-profits, and many others.\\nMelissa speaks worldwide to audiences including NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Foreign Defense, Ministries of Health, as well as a wide range of private and public companies, universities and non-profit organizations. She has been honored to share the stage with members of the Ukraine government and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 2015, Melissa gave a TEDx talk in Los Angeles where she discussed the secret to successful crisis management in the 21st century.\\nMelissa\\u2019s recent press coverage includes Forbes, WSJ, VIBE Magazine, USA Today and more. She is the editor of the highly acclaimed Crisis Intelligence Blog, and the host of the internationally recognized Crisis Intelligence videos and podcast. Published regularly and followed by government agencies and Fortune companies alike, her blog, videos and podcast help organizations manage issues and crises in today\\u2019s connected and real-time world.\\nWhen she isn\\u2019t managing crises or speaking in front of an audience, Melissa enjoys adventuring around the world (usually on a sailboat), reading, writing and sipping champagne in good company.\\nEpisode Highlights\\nHow does one embark upon a career as an expert in crisis?\\xa0"Growing up my dad always said to me \'Paranoia will destroy \'ya.\'" Jokes aside, Melissa notes that she is someone who can be paranoid but she\'s harnessed this into a powerful tool for helping organizations navigate today\'s tricky digital marketing waters.\\nYou don\'t have a \'social media crisis.\' Melissa used to agree with the buzzword \'social media crisis\' but not anymore. "It sounds like you have an issue that\'s a result of social media or that\'s confined to social media." In many cases, the true impact is much bigger than social media.\\nWhat does it mean to be a crisis ready? "It\'s a lot of different things. It\'s a mindset for the corporate culture. You have to create a plan but it\'s not always just about working those steps. Things can get very emotional \\u2014 and very impactful \\u2014 very fast. We have to be ready for that and that\'s not easy. It involves a lot of education.\\nHow to analyze the potential virality of a crisis. "We never know if something\'s going to go viral but I always look for two things \\u2014 emotional impact and relatability."\\xa0\\nWhat brand has made Melissa\\xa0smile recently? \\u201cWells Fargo \\u2014 that\'s a crisis of corporate culture." We kept pivoting back to the importance of culture in managing a crisis. Melissa smiled \\u2014 shaking her head in disbelief \\u2014 at Wells Fargo\'s crisis response. "They blamed their customers, their employees \\u2014 everything except owning their own role in it."\\nTo learn more,\\xa0follow Melissa on Twitter and check out her\\xa0website.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'