Crisis Communication

Dunkin' Donuts has an extensive data base containing multiple ways to get in contact with its investors in case of a crisis. They typically send out both an email and snail mail form of an announcement to try to guarantee each and every investor sees it. The likelihood of that happening before they hear it from the press is probably slim to none. I know I get all the Disney investor email updates and just delete most of them before opening. I'm not too fearful that my 64 cent yearly check is going to change that much I guess. Assuming that Dunkin' knew this about people, they created a page on their website just for their investors.

The investor page offers everything people who actually check their stocks would care about. It gives information on how to contact Dunkin's Investor Relations Department as well as the phone numbers and codes to call in to the quarterly earnings conference calls. This page also features news that wouldn't make the headlines to people who aren't financially invested in the company; stories about stock price changes and how revenue and dividends will go up due to 25 new locations opening up in Louisiana. I imagine that if there was ever anything that Dunkin' had to get out to its investors quickly, in addition to sending out individual messages, they would post it to this page as well.

Dunkin' Donuts leaves a lot of its community communications to its franchises. I have noticed a lot of Dunkin' Donuts creating their own Facebook pages to get word out about an individual location. Instead of running national contests like Dunkin' Donuts' corporate Facebook page, the franchise pages tend to emphasize friendliness and putting a personality to the location. They post things like:

they show that they are part of the community. I think this falls under the category of furthering brand mentality. Once again, this is an example of Dunkin' proving they are just like the consumer.

Of course, corporate also has strategies for getting into the community. I mentioned the "Caught Cold" campaign in the last blog, where the Dunkin' Crew, sometimes with Celtic Ray Allen, went out in the streets of Boston and the surrounding areas and rewarded people they saw drinking or eating Dunkin' Donuts. The "Caught Cold" campaign was mainly in the greater Boston area, but Dunkin' does the same thing when spreading to a new area. When Dunkin' first moved to the west coast, they rewarded people to gain attention and spread word about the new locations.

As far as getting news to the public, Dunkin' Donuts tends to rely on its social media. In a crisis the website is constantly updated--sometimes you might have to look for it, but it will be on the Press Releases page--as well as the Twitter and Facebook accounts. I think this is the best way to get the word out in today's world. Usually if someone is a Dunkin' fan they are friends with Dunkin' customers or their family drinks Dunkin', so even if only one person in a household follows the company on Twitter, word will spread.

In a crisis, I think I would alter the investor relations strategy a bit depending on the situation. I would probably send out the emails and letters to the investors and then give it two to three days before releasing the news online to the public, even on the investor page. I wouldn't put anything critical on the investor page right away just because there is no where to sign in. Technically the page and its content is directed specifically at Dunkin' Donut investors, but in reality the information is open to the general public. I'm not 100% positive, but I think because it is a publicly traded company this might be the standard, but I would still like to see some kind of online place where only investors can check on things before they are made public knowledge.. ya know, if the SEC says it's okay.

I think the most important strategies in a crisis are to be honest with your team, investors and the media when you decide to release the information, and stay calm. I can hear the "Uh DUH!" coming already, but really these are things that I think people look over. Being honest is one of the biggest things, of course this can also get confused with "keep your story straight." Basically, if you go up there and try to spin and spin and spin the situation, you're going to get dizzy and the mess will only get messier. Just telling the truth and stating fact will keep the media or investors off your back while you and your team develop a plan to handle the situation. I have always been a believer that the best PR reps are those that can play cool under pressure because the media is going to get the vibe of the situation from that PR rep. If they take the podium at the press conference babbling and with shaky hands, the press is going to most likely blow the situation out of proportion. However, if you can step up there calm and collected, yeah they're the media and still might blow it out of proportion, but people might also think it's no big deal and the crisis will just fizzle out of the news allowing the team to fix it without bother.