By Sue Masaracchia-Roberts

Where were you on Sept. 11, 2001? While the rest of the world stood in disbelief, PR professionals across the country scrambled to meet the challenges posed by an unimaginable crisis that was never addressed in any crisis plan. Four of those PR pros spoke at the Publicity Club of Chicago’s January luncheon to add their unique perspectives and to share stories, lessons learned and tips. Panel members were:

· Al Orendorff, then media relations director for the Financial Relations Board and now public relations director for AON Corporation;
· Rahsaan Johnson, then spokesperson for Continental Airlines and currently director of public relations for Aon Corporation;
· Jim Binder, public relations manager for the Options Clearing House; and
· Philip Zepeda, then American Red Cross spokesperson, now vice president of communications with America’s Second Harvest.

The panel moderator was former PCC president, Jonathan Lehrer.

Al Orendorff

On Sept. 11, Orendorff managed financial media relations for more than a dozen publicly traded companies in his role as vice president and media relations executive for the Financial Relations Board (FRB) in Chicago. However, he happened to have that day off and was picking up his dry cleaning when the attacks occurred. As a result, he had to shift gears quickly, calling offices with clients having locations in the World Trade Center and piecing together the elements of the story while trying to contact clients. AON, an FRB client and a global insurance brokerage, risk management consultant and specialty insurance underwriter, lost 176 people in the attacks.

“The Financial Relations Board had not drafted a crisis plan for AON. This was the worst possible time, as our unit was just being formed,” said Orendorff. “AON had an Internet presence that was just coming online. There was no preparation, no business continuity plan, and we barely had a communications plan in place, but nothing for a crisis. All our decisions were made on the fly.”

Prior to that day, AON senior management was still trying to understand what PR could do. “We were still educating the organization as to why it is important to communicate with the press,” said Orendorff. Considering that scenario, it was a stretch for him to expect his superiors to understand the need for a more sophisticated crisis communications plan. “In contrast to other aspects of planning, which were precise, they had trouble understanding that there were some things we cannot anticipate but need to communicate upfront. It was hard to sell the importance of a crisis plan, and especially the process. One can plan for a lot of contingencies, but not for everything. Staying in contact is key.”

He suggested that, in that vein, all manner of contact — home, BlackBerry and cell numbers, and e-mail addresses — must be accessible for all key personnel at all times.

At the time, AON, by necessity, took some innovative approaches. “They used the Internet and Intranet as their sole conduit to all their audiences. Everything went out on the Net,” said Orendorff. As a result, the company received “buckets of kudos from a number of outlets. The key learning we got from this was the power of the Internet in communicating to our partners and publics when our infrastructure was down,” he added.

In addition, he advised that a password-protected, “members only” section should be established to access information, talking points, phone numbers and other information vital for senior staff. Reporters also can make use of the Web to obtain information.

In addition, his company restructured the organization, in terms of arranging to space out employees in other locations in the event of bio-terrorism or other attacks that could endanger another’s health by germ exchange.

“Determine where you will do your job [in the event of an emergency]. Can you do it outside of the office?” Orendorff suggested that each member of management staff use a flash or jump drive to store information. PR people should also store their media information on these compact, portable devices. “They offer access to tons of information that we can take with us, allowing us to keep current and function professionally.”

He also suggested using an extranet — or remote access to the network — so cyberspace can be used as a repository for news releases, scripts and other information which can be added remotely in case one cannot get into the office.

“PR people should also know where the key spokespeople are at all times — especially the executives. Know when they are traveling and how they can be reached,” he added. “If anyone has any preconceived negative notions about the press, they need to set them aside in a crisis. The press is a conduit, enabling you to get out information. Your organizations need to understand the platform of the press and how useful they can be. In a crisis, they are our partners in getting our messages out.”

Orendorff suggested that people establish what to do, and who needs to do it, in advance. “Have a sense of urgency and instill discomfort,” he said. “You need that sense of urgency to get the train out the station in an emergency.”

Rahsaan Johnson

Currently, Johnson heads global media relations for AON Re, the company’s reinsurance brokerage subsidiary, and is responsible for global marketing and communications. However, on Sept. 11, he was one of four U.S. spokespeople for Continental Airlines during the attacks and the tumultuous years that followed.

Johnson was at home before the start of the workday, working on media relations for Continental Airlines in Houston while watching CNBC on television. “No one was in the office yet, but we were in crisis mode and I needed to get in there quickly,” he said. “There were several planes we had not heard from, and three employees were in the towers. Within the first 30 minutes of getting into the office, I needed to respond to 100 phone calls.”

Continental Airlines’ communications plan was akin in size “to the Encyclopedia Britannica. How do you plan for a full DC-10 jet landing in Youngstown, Ohio, in a town that has only a small coffee shop? Or for an unaccompanied minor with no supervision? We had a plan, but not one that was robust for a circumstance like this.”

He noted that the crisis plan contained “any resource you needed, but we found there was no time to look at it. In addition, the copies were in our offices; many associates were not.” Johnson learned the importance of keeping copies of the crisis plan “in your car, in your office, at home and in your briefcase. As important as the plan is, it is more important to have a strong team of media relations professionals who can talk to anyone, at any time about anything,” he added.

In addition to the plan being overly cumbersome, Johnson discussed how his staff prepared a Q&A to prepare their executives for any possible question a reporter might ask, adding, “but the reporters asked questions no one ever thought to ask.”

As for speaking to the media or deciding what actions to take, Johnson said, “If we had to wait for approvals before taking actions, we’d still be waiting. A plan is more than a book. What will you do on the fly?” Representatives must be able to “get on the phone with their various publics at the drop of a hat. To successfully be able to do that requires [PR people to have] the trust of your executives. In the case of 9/11, we did what needed to be done, starting with sending the messages that the World Trade Center employees were safe. Then we contacted and stayed in touch with employees and then spoke with the media. We learned that you need to organize your offices so that people are empowered to respond [when the need arises].”

He urged PR people to build internal and external relationships. “If NBC calls to tell you they are going on the air in an hour with your story, who will talk [for the company]? Who can represent the best, reputational interests of the company? Walk your CEO through what could happen if he’s not prepared. Be alarmist!”

Jim Binder

ChicagoFIRST was formed in 2003 to address the need for better coordination of continuity planning matters between Chicago’s financial community and city government. Binder, the managing editor of Standard & Poor’s Securities Week newsletter at the time of the attack, now serves as public relations manager for the Options Clearing Corporation and the Options Industry Council. Both organizations work to ensure financial sector resiliency in the event of any future disaster, man-made or natural.

As for 9/11, sitting on the 42nd floor of an office building several blocks away from the World Trade Center, Binder said, “We had no plan and there were only three of us working on Securities Week. We watched the first tower burn. When the second plane hit, we were told to get out.”

As far as communications, “it all came down to planning and proximity. We had a back-up site and access to the organization,” using the Web, creating “the ability to post messages. Plans are nice, but they need to be flexible. The tools are as important as the plan! We need the ability to handle whatever comes along.”

Thinking ahead, Binder suggested the audience educate themselves about the pandemic influenza. He is also wary about being able to access the Internet in a disaster, due to the amount of bandwidth cluttered with sites like MySpace.

As far as the Chicago metro area being prepared for a disaster in the future, “Chicago is in pretty good shape, even though it’s not perfect.”

He added that building relationships with the media is important. Those relationships come to fruition in a crisis.

Philip Zepeda

As vice president of communication and marketing for the American Red Cross National Headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack, Zepeda was responsible for internal and external communication strategy and execution for disaster relief, preparedness services and biomedical services, in addition to international services, health and safety educational programs and services for military families. He left the Red Cross in 2004 to become vice president of communication for America’s Second Harvest - The Nation’s Food Bank Network, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization.

Witnessing the plane hitting the Pentagon from an office building across from Arlington National Cemetery, Zepeda ran across closed bridges to get back to his office in Washington, D.C. A flood of civilian cars were exiting the city as he ran. Arriving at his office, he was amazed to find everyone still working at their desks. It wasn’t until word filtered down as to what had happened that they vacated the building, moving operations to Falls Church, Va., a location from which they worked for months following.

“We dealt with crisis on a regular basis, but when it affected our facilities and impacted our staff and families, we didn’t know what to do,” said Zepeda. “There was total chaos.”

Looking to the future, Zepeda suggested the need to define what constitutes a crisis. Is it a food-borne illness, the death of an executive or an accident in the workplace?

“You can truly plan about 40 percent of what you can do,” said Zepeda. “The rest will be done on the fly. Most important, however, is that people must be decisive and able to make decisions on a dime!” There may not be anyone of higher rank available to give approvals, so you need to be able to think on your feet.

The downfall of “Internet messaging was that by the time we put messages up on the Web site, the information and statistics changed. The situation was too fluid; things kept changing. Every day, we updated the Web, limiting the number of spokespeople, and using the Web as a tool and effective resource.”

Zepeda would like to see more emergency drills conducted in the city and suburbs, especially in terms of handling evacuations. Communications with donors, corporations and other publics, in his case, would depend on the magnitude of the disaster.

“You need to limit the number of company spokespeople and give them solid media training, as well as make sure they are well versed in the messaging,” said Zepeda. It makes the interviewee more comfortable when talking to the media and can avoid damaging “off-the-cuff” remarks.

“Without comments from a proper official, the media will tend to report what they want based on the information they have. Some of that information may not be accurate,” he added.

With your executives, Zepeda urges PR people to “Be alarmist! Put crisis possibilities on their radar. To be prepared, you need to spike people to think about these things.”

Post to: del.icio.us | | Posted by Maria Perez on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm.