What We Do
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY & SPOKESPERSON SUPPORT
By way of example we offer our work with the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair. In 2007, an unfortunate incident during a rodeo event resulted in an animal having to be euthanized. Our team implemented our predetermined crisis communications strategy, which included media outreach, backgrounders, historical data dissemination, and press conference development and facilitation. LBMG also acted as the key spokesperson for the Association and as the negotiating group between the Association and local government officials at the City of Surrey. Working round-the-clock, LBMG was able to secure a compromise, which ultimately became a unique rodeo model. We then held an emergency press conference, announcing Cloverdale’s plans to modify its rodeo program and eliminate four traditional rodeo events from its event and reorganize the rodeo into an invitational format. LBMG’s spokesperson on behalf of the Association, Laura Ballance, made the announcement at the press conference, which was attended by a significant number of local, major and ethnic media. Following the announcement, over the course of six days, Laura conducted in excess of four hundred media interviews around the world. Interviews occurred virtually 24 hours a day to accommodate international media deadlines. The result was extremely positive media coverage of Cloverdale’s decision in the local, national and worldwide press, excluding traditional rodeo industry media. It should be noted that the new format, which was debuted over the 2008 May long weekend, was ultimately extremely successful, resulting in more positive earned media coverage than in the Association’s history, and over 30% increased attendance.
Our team also recently responded to a potential messaging crisis for the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), when it became clear that PricewaterhouseCoopers would be revealing the worst economic results in recorded history at its annual forestry conference, where FPAC CEO Avrim Lazar was scheduled to give the opening address. We drafted a pre-emptive strategy, which involved key messaging, speech writing, targeted national media outreach and the drafting of a strategic op-ed piece for national publication. Within 48 hours of receiving the initial information, we had developed a plan that ultimately resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of positive earned media coverage that stayed on the Associations’ key messages.
