Wondering how some of the world’s biggest brands cope with crisis management? Read on for real life examples from the likes of Pepsi, Uber and more. 

Crisis management for businesses 

Crisis management in business is key for mitigating challenges efficiently and safeguarding reputation. Crisis management strategy involves prior planning, rapid response and effective communication to minimise the impact.  

Crisis management is of paramount importance in business for the following reasons: 

• Reputation: Preserving an organisation’s reputation ensures that trust and credibility with key stakeholders, customers and investors is maintained. 

• Operational continuity: Crisis management ensures that business operations can continue as normally as possible amid disruptions. 

• Finances: Financial stability comes from the protection of assets, revenue streams and market value amidst a crisis. 

• Compliance: Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. 

• Employee morale: Maintaining productivity during such challenges, and supporting employees’ well-being, and physical and mental health through crises. 

Four crisis management examples from famous brands 

It is easy to believe that big brands backed by so much money are immune from the backlash of crises, but that’s not at all the case. In fact, their widespread presence in society can sometimes amplify the impact of crises, drawing significant attention and scrutiny.

That’s why an effective Crisis Management Team and a watertight crisis management strategy is so crucial for businesses of any size. 

Here are some crisis management examples from huge brands which you may remember: 

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill 

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, owned and operated by offshore oil-drilling company Transocean and leased by the oil company BP, was the largest marine oil spill in history (causing a slick extending over more than 57,500 square miles).

It occurred after a surge of natural gas blasted through a concrete core recently installed to seal an oil well for later use. Once released, the natural gas traveled up a riser to the platform of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, where it ignited, killing 11 workers and injuring 17.  
 
BP responded to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by launching a massive cleanup effort, committing billions of dollars to compensate those impacted, and promoting stricter safety measures in their operations. They also faced intense public and regulatory scrutiny, leading to significant reputational and financial damage to the company.

Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad 

In terms of PR crisis management, the Pepsi ad of 2017 was a huge one. The controversial Pepsi advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner, which aimed to convey a message of harmony, suggesting that a simple act of sharing a Pepsi could bridge societal divides and promote understanding.

However, it in fact had the opposite effect. The ad received a storm of criticism, being accused of trivialising serious social justice movements and appropriating the struggles of marginalised communities. 
 
Pepsi quickly made the decision to pull ad from all platforms and acknowledged that the advertisement missed the mark and issued an apology. They also acknowledged the concerns raised by the public, activists and advocacy groups, and expressed regret for any offense caused.

British Airways IT outage 

The British Airways IT outage hit the headlines in 2017, seeing all British Airways flights worldwide grounded for almost two full days, causing huge inconvenience to passengers and financial losses for the airline.  
 
To address the reputational damage of this IT crisis management, British Airways offered compensation to affected passengers, issued public apologies and implemented preventative measures to ensure that the outage would not happen again. They also engaged in transparent communication with the media to rebuild trust with passengers and stakeholders.

#DeleteUber  

During the Trump strike, Uber continued operating its service at John F. Kennedy International Airport, creating the perception that it was undermining a taxi strike in protest of President Trump's immigration ban. As if this wasn’t enough, Uber also announced that it was switching off surge pricing halfway through the strike, as though they were capitalising on the situation. This move caused more than 200,000 users to delete the Uber app.  
 
In response to this crisis, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick issued a public apology, stating that their decision to continue operations during the strike was not intended to undermine the protest but was rather to ensure transportation availability for those in need. Additionally, Uber pledged to create a $3 million legal defense fund to support drivers affected by the immigration ban. 

How an MSc Risk, Crisis and Resilience Management can help you manage organisational risk and crises 

To tackle the challenges of crisis management, you need to be analytical, strategic, adaptable, decisive and a good communicator. To develop these skills and learn more about what the role involves, you could consider a crisis management course.  
 
Accredited by The Institute of Risk Management (IRM), our MSc Risk, Crisis and Resilience Management is designed to equip you with an in-depth understanding of what counts as risk, how to build a robust risk-management culture and how to help organisations handle crises. Additionally, you’ll also learn how to leverage risk in a way that benefits organisation – because in uncertainty lies opportunity. 

Our course is part-time, and fully online meaning you can learn at your own pace and work around your other commitments: