Most companies have crisis management strategies in place that management can deploy when an event threatens its brand and reputation. However, for most companies, these crisis strategies are developed within the framework of managing its own issues. It usually sounds something like this, “If it happens to us, we’re prepared to manage it.” 

But what should an organization do when a competitor is hit with a crisis or issue? What if the crisis is significant enough to affect not only the competitor’s brand but the reputation of the entire industry?

Although these types of catastrophic events are rare, such moments present significant challenges to a company that is not equipped to deal with the situation. It’s not enough for companies to have crisis management strategies in place so they can manage their own issues; companies should also have them ready when a competitor is hit with a crisis.

On January 13, 2012, a catastrophic event took place as the cruise ship, Costa Concordia (a subsidiary of the Carnival Corporation), ran aground and partially sank on the western coast of Italy. Although most of the 4,200 passengers and crew were rescued by the heroic efforts of the Italian Coast Guard, several people lost their lives and many are still missing.

Oil recovery workers pass in front of the Costa Concordia cruise ship Photo: REUTERS

Within hours of the tragedy taking place, Costa’s Communications team deployed their crisis management plan, setting up an assistance hotline and an information feed directly on their website. However, Costa has a major PR task ahead of it as it deals with the embarrassing revelation that the vessel’s Captain abandoned ship early claiming he “tripped into a lifeboat.”

Unsettling images of the tragic event have been broadcasting on TV stations, appearing in newspapers and streaming on news websites across the globe. This media coverage will have a destabilizing and potentially negative long-term effect on the reputation of not only Costa, but the cruise line industry as a whole. Consumers that were previously considering a cruise vacation may now seek the perceived ‘less risky’ choice of an all-inclusive resort or hotel getaway.

The fact is: this issue won’t just affect Costa and the Carnival Corporation; it has serious implications for all major cruise lines.

In response to this event, the Communications teams from Carnival Corporation’s competitors should be proactively communicating their commitment to safety to the media, their agency partners and their customer base. As tragic as this event is, this crisis presents an opportunity for competitors in the cruise line industry to unite, review and take group action to ensure the enforcement of safety regulations and evacuation best practices so that events like this never happen again.

A similar response was taken during BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster in 2010, when industry competitors Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips, teamed up to put together $1 Billion USD in funding to develop technology and response plans for capturing and containing oil spills.

Communications teams are responsible for managing the reputation of their organization and must not ignore the impact that a competitor’s crisis might have on their reputation. In situations like the one above, Communicators cannot solely rely on media monitoring tools and clipping services to effectively manage the impact of a competitor crisis.

With a brand management solution, organizations can effectively manage multiple issues at the same time and Communicators can strategize, develop and implement an effective crisis management plan to mitigate the negative impact on their corporate reputation – even if it’s in the wake of a competitor’s crisis.