So what do you do when that target lands on your company?
How about this:
1) Don't get a response drafted and released by your lawyers or a PR team.
2) Try (even if it hurts) to be a human, rather than a company.
3) Talk to the people who matter most. Hint: that's not the media.
What do I know about being a target for doom and gloom media? Nothing. But Nova Scotian Crystal does. After seeking debt protection for a slow Q4 2008, the local media jumped on this industry gem like a fly on crap.
The response: a well crafted, human letter that went to loyal/paying customers. It gets a bit formal at the end, but the language is in conversation form. The tone is frank and sincere. Nova Scotian Crystal even asks for customers to buy from them as that's what it takes to stay in business (Holy Sh*t! That's just crazy).
Here's the letter in its entirety that was sent to a colleague of mine. Awesome example of how to be a better business.
Steve -- totally agree with your take on the doom and gloom media (hence the old saying, "If it bleeds it leads"). I also absolutely agree with going directly to your most important audiences and would add that during a crisis if you can even reach them face-to-face, that will give you the most credibility. (That's why setting up regular face-to-face communication mechanisms as part of your regular communication program is so valuable. It allows you to build trust and credibilty in advance, and easily tap into your most important stakeholders when it's crisis or crunch time). Where I will disagree with you is on ignorning the media altogether. There certainly are a really tough audience to get your message across clearly, but allowing erroneous or inflammatory information to be unanswered by your company can be incredibly damaging to your reputation (people will assume it's true, and lots and lots of them will see it). And on top of that, speaking up early and often can make or break a companies reputation (think Maple Leaf). Just sayin'.
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