How to Handle a PR Crisis: Lessons from Big Brands

Dealing with a public relations crisis can be confusing and stressful, with quick changes that can hurt your reputation or business. How should brands deal with a PR crisis? Many large companies have learned that clear and quick communication, honest empathy, and a solid pre-made plan make all the difference.

Instead of letting a crisis destroy your reputation, a well-handled response can help you earn confidence and even grow stronger. In this article, you’ll find out what makes up a PR crisis, what the effects are, and what steps to take, with examples from well-known companies. For businesses wanting stronger protection, working with a professional PR agency can help build a strong and reliable crisis communication plan.

These days, when information (and rumors) spread extremely fast online, it’s very important for brands to react promptly and properly in a crisis. Social media can create and spread a crisis in just hours, but it’s also a key way to talk directly with customers during tough times. In fact, a third of PR professionals use social media every day to keep an eye on public opinion, showing just how powerful these tools are.

What Is a PR Crisis?

A PR crisis is any serious event that puts your company’s reputation or operations at risk. These aren’t minor issues-they demand fast and careful handling or the damage could be long-lasting. It’s an unexpected problem that puts your business in the spotlight, often causing people to question your brand.

While some crises seem sudden, many begin with problems that could have been spotted earlier. Recognizing these early warning signs helps you get ready and limit the risk.

What Causes PR Crises?

PR crises can start for many reasons. Here are some common causes:

• Product problems: Products don’t work as promised, or worse, cause injuries.
• Poor decisions or neglect: The company knows about a problem but doesn’t fix it, which can quickly make things worse.
• Cybercrime and data breaches: Criminal hacking or mistakes lead to leaks of sensitive data like customer addresses or bank information.
• Unethical or illegal behavior: Actions by leaders, staff, or partners can go against the company’s values or even break the law.
• Supply chain interruptions: Issues with supplies cause major disruptions, such as KFC running out of chicken.

Types of PR Crises for Big Brands

Well-known companies are especially open to different kinds of PR trouble because of their wide reach. Examples include:

• Product failures (Samsung’s battery explosions)
• Major technical issues (CrowdStrike’s IT outage in 2024)
• Bad choices in marketing or workplace behavior (Bud Light’s social media reaction, Balenciaga’s ad)
• Mistakes or insensitive posts on social media that spread quickly (Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience, similar to Fyre Festival)

How PR Crises Affect Brands

A PR crisis can have immediate and long-lasting effects, hitting both profits and reputation. It’s not just about how the brand appears to the public-it’s about the real challenges of winning back support and fixing damage afterwards.

Short-Term Effects: Reputation, Money, and Trust

Right after a crisis, brands can lose trust and sales fast. News reports and social media can drive criticism and complaints, pushing customers away. This loss of faith can mean lower sales, less market share, or even big drops in stock value (CrowdStrike saw shares fall by 35% after a worldwide software problem).

A slow or weak response, or trying to cover up the problem, often makes things much worse.

Long-Term Effects: Loyalty and Brand Value

PR crises can do damage that lasts for years. Building trust back up can be difficult and slow. Companies that aren’t open and honest can lose loyal customers, who might choose a competing brand instead. Volkswagen’s emissions scandal is a famous example of how lying during a crisis can destroy trust for a long time.

On the other hand, some companies bounce back stronger by showing they care and are willing to make changes.

What Makes PR Crisis Management Successful?

Good crisis management takes planning before trouble hits. Having a strong and organized approach and making sure everyone knows their job is key for a quick and confident response.

What Should Be in a Crisis Communications Plan?

A strong crisis communications plan is the starting point. Shockingly, 7 out of 10 companies don’t have one. This plan should:

• List steps for finding, handling, and fixing different problems
• Say who does what, who communicates with the press, and which channels to use
• Include “holding statements” that can be quickly updated and used as a first response
• Give guidelines for social media answers and employee communication
• Describe types of crises and how to respond to them

The plan should be checked and updated regularly to keep up with company changes and new trends online. Brainstorming possible problems ahead of time helps keep messages clear and steady.

Defining Team Roles and Duties

A serious crisis needs everyone’s help, not just marketing and social staff. There should be a crisis team with clearly set jobs:

• A team leader to run the response
• A coordinator to manage tasks and updates
• Experts for legal, IT, HR, and operations
• Named spokespeople who are allowed to speak for the company

Legal can help with rules and risk; IT can handle hacks or leaks; HR deals with staff issues; operations works on keeping business running. Picking and training spokespeople early means you won’t waste time choosing later.

Monitoring and Spotting Trouble Early

Watching for possible problems is a must. Keeping an eye on social media and news helps spot signs of trouble before things get worse. Tools like Google Alerts or more advanced social listening tools let you see when people start talking negatively about your brand. Your customer service team can also give early warnings if they see more complaints than usual.

Preparation: Writing Statements and Training Speakers

Being ready in advance helps keep your crisis response calm and clear. Having statement templates ready to go means you can quickly share important info without mistakes or mixed messages. Training people to talk to the media ensures they won’t be thrown off or accidentally say the wrong thing, keeping your message accurate and sympathetic.

How Leading Brands Respond During a PR Crisis

Quick, smart action after a crisis starts can shape the outcome, deciding whether a brand recovers or suffers lasting harm. Big companies provide useful examples of what to do-and what not to do.

Steps for Quick Response and Control

When trouble hits, act fast. Launch your crisis plan, and respond quickly to stop rumors and control the story. Apologize if you’ve made a mistake, and clearly explain how you’re fixing it. Taking responsibility builds trust and shows that you’re being honest.

Use press releases, media interviews, and official statements, but also remember that employees and the public are watching. Keep messages steady and avoid saying different things in different places.

Talking to Media vs. Speaking Directly to Customers

Brands should choose the right way to communicate during a crisis. While formal press statements matter, direct updates for customers-especially on social media-are now very important.

People expect fast, honest answers. While social media can allow more direct and casual updates, official statements are often more formal. The goal is to keep information clear and steady everywhere, and social media is sometimes the fastest way to reach most people.

Using Social Media During a Crisis

Social media can hurt or help. It can start a crisis by spreading problems, but it can also be where you fix your reputation. Tracking what people say about your brand helps you spot trouble and respond quickly. Some brands (like Slack) offer regular updates during an issue, building trust by being open.

Aldi, through a funny campaign, managed to turn a legal issue into a win by getting customers on their side. Brands should always respond in a truthful, transparent way on the channels where their customers are.

Real Examples: Successes and Failures in Crisis Response

Learning from real-world situations is helpful. Here are popular examples of crisis responses-good and bad-from leading brands:

Lessons and Tips for Handling PR Crises

While the details of each crisis can be different, some key rules hold true. Here’s what brands can learn from these examples:

Take Responsibility-Don’t Shift the Blame

Admitting mistakes is very important. KFC was forgiven because they owned up to their supply problem, using humor and clear apologies. Volkswagen, by hiding the truth, lost customer support for years. People respect brands that are open when they make mistakes and show what they are doing to fix it.

Keep Messages Consistent Everywhere

Every message you share must match, no matter if it’s on social media, in a press release, or through an employee. Mixed messages can ruin your credibility. Make sure everyone involved knows what to say and follows the crisis communication guidelines.

Act Fast, But Don’t Sacrifice Accuracy

You must respond quickly, but the facts have to be right. Don’t rush out details until you’re sure. Use pre-written holding statements as a quick first step, then follow up with full details when you have them. Avoid guessing or offering info that may need correction later, since that can hurt trust even more.

After the Crisis: Analysis and Rebuild

Once the emergency is over, review what happened. Assess what worked and what didn’t in your response. Update plans and fix any weaknesses you found. Use this time to repair relationships with customers and partners-sometimes that means new rules, different leaders, or new ways to support your community. Keep showing you are making changes for the better.

Tips to Prevent PR Crises in the Future

• Create a culture of honesty and responsibility at every level of the business
• Regularly review products, services, and risks for possible weak spots
• Invest in strong cybersecurity measures
• Build good relationships with the media and customers before any crisis happens
• Run regular training on crisis management and communications for all staff

Taking these steps means you’re better prepared, and can turn a potential crisis into a moment that shows your company’s strengths, not its weaknesses.