Media relations in a crisis

Adweek recently posted an interesting column by Mike Valdes-Fauli on its website that outlines some good, practical tips for considering the Hispanic media in crisis communication.

His tips include:

1. Remember emotion resonates -- despite conventional wisdom of only sticking to the facts, Hispanics are accustomed to more emotion and sentimentality in their communications.

2. Adapt, don't translate. An expert should carefully adapt the messages in the announcement to create a new document that effectively communicates the key message points to Hispanics.

3. Think new consumer, old-school tactics. Much of the Hispanic media landscape still thrives on a ground-level, person-to-person interaction.

4. Find the Hispanic angle. Regardless of language used it is advisable to find a Hispanic angle and make that the news hook.

5. Respect cultural differences. We know that Hispanics are not all the same, so we need to ensure we communicate differently with each subset of the population.

All good tips. What is missing here is one of the main aspect of crisis communication, which is developing solid relationships with the media ahead of any crisis. When a crisis hits is not the time to be figuring out who the influential media are to contact or the first time you're outreaching to them.

Any good crisis communication program needs an "offensive" aspect to it and not only a "defensive" one when the mierda hits the fan. Going on the offense entails aspects like developing positive relationships w/the media, the community and key groups.

The analogy I've used is that it's like having a savings account. You need to continuously make "deposits" to the "good-will" account so that you have something in the bank should a crisis force you to make a big "withdrawal." If there is nothing in there for a withdrawal, you are essentially out on your own hoping for the best.

While positive relationships alone won't solve your crisis issue, they will help to at least minimize long-term ramifications and ensure you have credible people out there speaking positively on your behalf.

This advise applies to the general market, not only the Hispanic market.