We conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments for organisations by analysing publicity, conducting interviews with key members of the organisation and conducting proprietary research. The output of this process provides an in-depth understanding of the organisation’s vulnerabilities: their risks and threats. With this knowledge in hand, Critical Publics then builds customised scenarios and assesses their impact both on the organisation and its stakeholders in terms of the potential value loss they may cause.

Effective crisis handling is a leadership imperative as a crisis has the potential to severely impact an organisation's competitive position, potential for long-term success and even survival. Crisis preparedness should be integrated into an organisation’s overall strategic and tactical plans.

Transnational communications involve multiple, powerful stakeholders across more than one geography. With increased media interest, crises can strike at any time and take the form of political crises, sabotage, natural disasters, harmful information leaked to the press, and so on. If uncontrolled and unexpected, a crisis that finds its way to the media can have dramatic impact.

We view crises as opportunities. Critical Publics offers extensive experience in assisting large private and public sector organisations in handling communication crises effectively and with the best possible results. Our crisis management methodologies have been developed and tested to create a proactive attitude that allows us to pre-empt and predict potential crises to the greatest extent possible. This is done through exhaustive scenario development and planning of clear-cut processes.

Critical Publics supports clients when a crisis occurs by consulting with the communications crisis management team and actively taking part in the communications processes and actions.

Our aim is to cut down reaction times, minimise any possible negativity, and turn media exposure into an opportunity/platform for positive image building.

Critical Publics has extensive experience in assisting organisations with their communications with the global media. Our unique strengths lie in our ability to think and act on an international level, and to help clients reach larger audiences through global media.

Critical Publics Relations is also a crucial communication portal for investors and regulatory authorities, and can assist in creating a winning story for each stakeholder group.

Corporate Citizenship (CC) used to be simple and optional. Today, it is complicated and mandatory. With the emergence of global markets, rapid access to information, and heightened consumer expectations, organisations of all sizes who want to create and maintain ethical governance must establish an integrated CC strategy as part of their overall business plan. Companies that adhere to this standard recognise that building and maintaining trustworthy relationships with the community is a critical component of company strategy and operations.

Critical Publics can help clients to identify those current or potential issues, which impact the organisation and its social identity. As CC is a pre-emptive approach to crisis and dispute handling, we provide a full suite of services from planning and introducing internal policies and guidelines, training and coaching, stakeholder engagement, creating communication actions and initiatives and developing public positions.

International media are both the key communication channels and perception-shapers of our age. Organisations with international interdependencies face the challenge of interacting with representatives of the international media and thus require a structured approach to transnational communications.

We develop and provide protocols for streamlined communication and intelligence as points of reference during the communication process. On a strategic level, we design and deliver plans that enable clients to:

• Outline and conceptualise the operating environment
• Identify key media audiences
• Use them as a powerful bridge to reach and interact with the critical publics, and
• Be proactive and creative, in order to maintain critical momentum.

On a tactical level, we offer media relations implementation with powerful, measurable results on either a local or pan-European level, as per the organisation’s agenda.

Critical Publics offers comprehensive media training that enables clients’ spokespeople to understand the forces of a communications crisis, comprehend the media environment and its actors, realise the importance of their role during a crisis and fully prepare for successful interactions with media and journalists.

The critical questions to be answered are:

• What is a communications crisis?
• What are journalists’ motives and behaviour?
• Which are the messages to disseminate to the media?
• What is the optimal argumentation and phraseology of the messages?

Developing the right messages is a science. Articulating the messages with impact is an art. Good public and social speakers are not always effective communicators when it comes to dealing with specialist audiences like the media, analysts, investors, employees, customers, and partners.

Critical Publics media training prepares spokespeople to use and employ specific, proven techniques. To help our clients develop and master these techniques, we organise scenario-based simulation sessions.