Effective public relations don't happen by chance; they require time, effort and planning. It is incumbent in effective public relations to develop a strategy at or before the beginning of each year. By developing a comprehensive plan early on, you can prevent difficulties later and avoid last-minute preparations. Once plans are developed, identify the target media is also important to plan. These might include your regional or suburban newspaper, the local radio station and the local television stations. Setting up contact lists can also be a part of planning for the year to come. However, not all situations that the public relations group will face can be planned for. Although companies should plan for crisis and surprise, there will always be situations that could not be planned for. No one enjoys planning for a crisis. Many companies would prefer not to have to talk to customers, the press or even employees when crises occur. But open channels of communication enhance your company's image in good times as well as bad. A crisis well handled can build well-earned respect, as well as trust in company management. At Brigham Scully, we are always prepared to help you handle the unexpected and the unwelcome. We also attempt to anticipate crises to better prevent their occurrence.
Crisis.
Being prepared for a crisis is an important part of public relations. Preparedness can include developing a detailed crisis strategy, creating media materials in advance, arranging media training for key executives and pre-establishing a crisis team. "When the Air France Concorde crashed in late July, killing 113 people, airline officials were immediately on the phone, radio and television, explaining, consoling and commenting on the tragedy" (Applegate, 2000). This was a strategy that had to be put together for effective public relations. Christine Brown is a public relations media consultant for Air France.