As previously mentioned, case studies are a wonderful tool to use in trying to understand corporate communication. For my research regarding this topic, I am referencing "The Theory and Practice of Corporate Communication" by Alan T. Belasen. This book references a lot of case studies and covers important topics related to corporate communication.
Southwest Airlines Crisis
Belasen references Southwest Airlines and how they handled their own crisis:
Date: December 8, 2005
What: Flight 1248 veered off the runway killing a 6-year old boy and injuring 11 other people.
How it was handled: Within hours of the crash, Southwest Airlines had released a statement that they were working with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Southwest Airlines employees called the families of the injured individuals to inform them of the incident before releasing names to the press. Shortly after their first press release, Southwest Airlines issued another release with additional information regarding the incident, including contact information if additional information was needed.
End Result: Southwest Airlines had complete control of the situation. By not releasing names until families were called, it avoided the state of panic that families of the victims would have endured. Additionally, releasing two press releases within hours of each other gave Southwest Airlines control as to how its image was portrayed by the media.
Verizon Crisis
Belasen also discusses a case study with Verizon and their crisis:
Date: September 11, 2001
What: The attacks on the World Trade Center’s knocked out many of Verizon’s voice access lines and millions of their data circuits. This left thousands of customers with no service.
How it was handled: the corporate communications team made an effort to keep the public informed regarding the extensive damage to their towers and circuits. A 24-hour press center was opened for this specific crisis and Verizon worked to restore systems as soon as possible so the NYSE would be able to function the following Monday. The CEO of Verizon, Ivan Seidenberg, worked with the communications sector to ensure the employees were fully informed of the crisis. Seidenberg made special trips to the site to inspect scope of the damage to the buildings.
End Result: Verizon’s responsive action to this crisis was well-received by the public and Seidenberg’s actions even received positive news coverage and Verizon looking even better than before regarding their public image.
Read about the Verizon crisis in an article here
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