Plumbing Connection 3-2015

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PLUMBING CONNECTION SPRING 2015 47
during a crisis. For example, if someone is critically injured
on a worksite you would prepare a message or holding
statement for media using the CAP principle:
Compassion: this shows you are human and have empathy
for the person or situation.
Action: this demonstrates what action you are taking to fix
the situation.
Perspective: this puts the situation in perspective so others
don’t think this is a regular occurrence and it helps with
credibility.
Here is an example of a CAP statement using the scenario
above:
We are saddened that Joe Smiths was injured while
working on our construction site today and our best wishes
go out to him for a speedy recovery.
We are currently working with the authorities to
investigate exactly how the incident happened and what, if
anything, can be done to prevent this happening again.
During our 10 year history of building we have never had a
serious injury and have always ensured safe work practices.
The quicker you respond, the more likely you will minimise
damage to your reputation.
CASE STUDY
We were working on a social media campaign with an
organisation trying to change people’s thoughts and,
ultimately, behaviour about a contentious issue. There
were two extreme viewpoints (but the law was on our side).
In implementing the campaign we decided to target the
fence-sitters, knowing that was where we could make the
most impact. The campaign commenced and the client’s
social media pages were immediately flooded with negative
commentary against our campaign.
The client wanted us to shut our Twitter feed and delete
the negative comments but we convinced them that it would
be better to address the comments with facts and evidence.
While we knew we might not be effective in changing the
author’s opinion, those reading the comments would at least
be exposed to our viewpoint. Each comment was responded
to publicly with a counter argument based on facts, but
one that also acknowledged the perspective of the people
who were commenting. This approach worked. Research
conducted before and after showed the change in both
thoughts and behaviour of the people we were targeting.
There is no avoiding negative commentary but what you
do with it makes all the difference. By dealing with both
solicited and unsolicited feedback in the right way you can
change people’s perception and improve your business.
Cecelia Haddad is the director of Marketing Elements,
which specialises in public relations for the building and
environmental sectors.
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