Denterlein Worldwide

Description

Crisis Communications Case Studies Not Your Average Joe's Client Not Your Average Joe's, a restaurant chain with more than a dozen locations in Greater Boston and Northern Virginia. Challenge Not Your Average Joe's has a strong reputation for building and maintaining good relationships with their customers, so when it was determined that a fairly limited number of customer credit-card numbers were breached by an outside third-party, they quickly took action. There were several challenges. Not Your Average Joe's needed to conduct an investigation to determine the scope of the breach and meet public reporting requirements - all while maintaining the trust of its solid base of loyal customers. Our Plan Denterlein Worldwide Public Affairs worked very closely with Not Your Average Joe's legal team to develop and executive a proactive plan that addressed state regulatory requirements and timeframe for reporting, as well as specific strategies to communicate with customers affected and the general public. Denterlein Public Affairs pursued two avenues - we proactively reached out to the Globe and also posted a notice on the company's website, along with a detailed Q&A to help minimize the scope and duration of coverage. Results The proactive approach resulted in a story that lasted for a 24-hour news cycle, rather than a much more prolonged coverage from dripping details. While the website did see an exponential increase in visits during the following week, that number declined just seven days later. Customers repeatedly expressed their appreciation of Not Your Average Joe's proactive approach. Mandarin Oriental Client Mandarin Oriental, Boston, a high-profile, mixed use development of retail, luxury condos, apartments, and a 149-key hotel, located in a premier Boston location - connected directly to the Prudential Center and in the heart of the Back Bay. Challenge Two months before Mandarin Oriental, Boston's completion date, a four-alarm fire broke out, damaging hotel rooms and the Spa, making an on-time opening impossible. Our Plan Denterlein Public Affairs responded immediately by providing a three-person on-site crisis team within the hour, led by President Geri Denterlein. In the early stages of the crisis, Denterlein Public Affairs fielded press calls and created and coordinated messaging between the developer, the contractor, and the operator, and advising all stakeholders on their initial responses to press inquiries. Result The client's transparent interaction with the press on the day of the fire - guided by Denterlein Public Affairs' crisis communication plan - engendered a sense of trust in the media. This transparency was rewarded as complicated questions arose concerning the cause of the fire, the extent of the damage, its subsequent costs, and possible delays in opening. As a result of Denterlein Public Affairs' guidance and messaging, the team was able to reinforce Mandarin Oriental, Boston's standing as a one-of-a-kind project with the highest level of commitment to quality construction standards. While the fire eventually caused a delay in opening, at end of the news cycle, the public had the perception that this was an unparalleled project reaffirmed, and reporters, appreciative of the team's responsive, were amenable to reporting favorably on the team's progress toward opening. National Financial Institution Client A large, nationally-based financial institution with customers throughout New England. Challenge The challenge was three-fold: it faced a change in leadership, declining revenue and a potential change in its customer service model. Our Plan Denterlein Public Affairs worked with local leadership to ensure that there was a strong plan in place for the leadership transition, and that the communications strategy addressed any issues that contributed to its financial losses. Although we did not engage in any proactive media outreach, Denterlein Public Affairs ensured that leading team members were prepared to address any press inquiries in a timely and responsive manner as a way to help maintain confidence. More importantly, we encouraged a more aggressive customer outreach campaign so that key client audiences would be well informed about the current business strategy. Though the potential change in business model was not a public discussion, we worked with the institution to be prepared to address issues related to the topic, with a focus on communicating with regulators, media and customers. Results Although press coverage was challenging, the key messages that the fundamental operations of the institution were sound and that there was a strong leadership team in place were featured prominently in all coverage. In addition, customer confidence remained strong because of the institution's transparency, and detailed reporting about steps the organization put in place for the future. Children's Hospital Boston Overview/ Objective Children's Hospital in Boston, regarded as the number one pediatric hospital in the nation, has been represented by Denterlein Worldwide for a number of years. While providing overall communications strategy development and implementation for the hospital, Denterlein also created a crisis communications protocol for the hospital. Strategy As part of our effort for Children's Hospital, we met with key groups to determine issues most likely to generate news coverage and develop key messages. We also provided media training for physicians and hospital leadership so that the team would know how to respond to media inquiries. Following completion of the project, we gave Children's Hospital staff a crisis manual that walked them through each step of the containment process. Results While the hospital has been fortunate to experience few negative media stories, hospital leadership and administration recognized that all health care related issues are becoming increasingly scrutinized

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