Valley PR Blog

Crisis PR tips from Tempe Town Lake

By Linda VandeVrede on August 2nd, 2010 In Best Practices

Kris Baxter-Ging, who is Community Development Marketing Specialist for the City of Tempe, and Nikki Ripley, Communication and Media Relations Director, shared with me their experience handling the recent Tempe Town Lake dam breakage.   In the first 48 hours of the crisis, they handled 200 media calls. 

As we all know now, one of the inflatable bladders for the dam broke Tuesday night July 20th at approximately 9:45 p.m.What helped them get through the first 48 hours?  “You have to put aside family life and have very understanding families,” says Nikki.   “And you have to have the commitment to deal with 2-3 hours of sleep the first night and only slightly more hours each night for the next few days. It was grueling, but, as former print journalists, both Kris and I feed on the adrenaline of these situations and that gets you through.”

“Your relationship with the media before a crisis happens is more important than anything else,” says Kris. “It’s one thing to have the numbers of media in your Rolodex.  It’s another to have built something together.”

Town Lake had probably fewer than 200,000 visitors the year it opened. Now, more than 2.7 million visitors a year hang out there, and in just 10 years the lake has brought in more than $415 million. The media has covered stories on everything from cardboard boat races to salsa festivals, Greek Fest, and rowing teams.  “They know Tempe Town Lake as well as I do,” says Kris.   “Those relationships meant a lot.  The reporters knew immediately where to go, where to park, and what to expect from a Tempe press conference.”

Luckily, after the bladder broke, no one was hurt. The crisis has had a silver lining because it has attracted more joggers and curious people to the lake to take a look. And then of course, there is the infamous alligator, Tuesday.

The Tempe company that handles water quality and fish health was contacted by Russ Johnson, who said his alligator as well as creatures at the Phoenix Herpetological Society would like the fish for dinner.  “What is perhaps initially gross to us is definitely delicious to those creatures,” Kris said.  “The alligator was definitely a game changer.  Once people knew the lake was safe, the highest number of calls we received were about the fish.   But after we brought in the alligator, the message became about nourishing other animals and making use of what we had.” 

Kris and Nikki shared the following major crisis communication tips:

1) React immediately, but do give yourself a moment to plan the right thing to say.

2) Be as transparent as possible, but take a moment as well to review and do a little strategy.

3) Utilize the relationships you have built over time.  Treat everybody well now. Your good reputation will help you get through.

4). Be accessible instantly and throughout the crisis.

5). Communicate with each other – the entire PR team needs to know what is happening.

6).  Establish a clear PR command structure beforehand, so you know who is handling what.

7). Ensure that you have reliable, informed spokespeople who are not afraid to talk to the media.

8). Use all the resources available (web page, twitter, Facebook) to serve as an ongoing resource about what is happening.

9). Create a media plan not only for the short term but the long term as well, so you can keep out in front of the issue.

10).  Ensure you have a lot of stamina, especially to get through that first week!

For a slideshow of the dam burst, click here. 

 Photo credit:  Michael Schennum, The Arizona Republic

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