Crisis Management & Reputation
When a difficult situation becomes public, the way it is handled can have a lasting impact on a person’s career, business, relationships, and reputation.
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Black Diamond provides crisis management and public relations support for athletes, entertainers, executives, organizations, and other public-facing professionals dealing with sensitive or potentially damaging situations.
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Our work may begin before an issue becomes public, when a client knows a story or allegation may be coming, or after the situation has already gained attention. In either case, we help clients understand what they are facing, determine who needs to be addressed, and develop a practical communications strategy.
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There is no standard response to a crisis. Sometimes a public statement is necessary. Sometimes the better decision is to say very little while additional information is gathered. In other situations, we may need to respond directly to media inquiries, prepare a client for an interview, communicate with stakeholders, or manage an issue that is rapidly developing on social media.
The first priority is understanding the situation before adding to it.
How We Help
First Things First...
Crisis management engagements are tailored to the circumstances and may include:
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Crisis assessment and response strategy
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Public statement development
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Media response and reporter inquiries
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Talking points and interview preparation
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Social media response strategy
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Internal and stakeholder communications
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Media and online monitoring
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Coordination with attorneys, agents, managers, teams, employers, or other advisors
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Reputation management following negative publicity
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Long-term reputation recovery and repositioning
We also work with clients proactively to prepare for situations that may reasonably become public, including anticipated litigation, organizational changes, controversial decisions, disciplinary matters, investigations, or other issues likely to generate media or public attention.
Crisis Management
in Sports
Sports presents its own set of challenges when it comes to crisis communications.
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For an athlete, coach, or sports professional, a personal issue can quickly become a professional one. An arrest, allegation, suspension, social media post, team dispute, lawsuit, or other controversy can affect relationships with teams, leagues, sponsors, fans, media, and future employers.
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Black Diamond's background in athlete management and sports public relations allows us to look at these situations from more than a traditional PR perspective. We understand that the immediate headline is important, but so are the client's contractual relationships, professional opportunities, personal brand, and long-term career.
We can assist with matters involving athlete or coach misconduct allegations, arrests and legal matters, team or league discipline, suspensions, collegiate and NIL-related controversies, social media incidents, sponsor concerns, public disputes, negative media coverage, and other situations affecting an individual's professional reputation.
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When a client is represented by an attorney or agent, we are also comfortable working as part of that professional team. Our role is to manage the communications and public relations component while respecting the responsibilities of legal counsel and other representatives.
Entertainment, Executives,
& Organizations
Our crisis management services are not limited to sports.
Black Diamond also works with entertainers, business owners, executives, organizations, brands, and other public-facing individuals who find themselves dealing with unwanted attention or reputational concerns.
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These situations can range from a negative news story or viral social media post to litigation, accusations, internal disputes, professional misconduct allegations, or an issue involving an employee, partner, or organization.
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The circumstances are different for every client, which is why we do not believe crisis management should come from a template.
We assess what has happened, what information is already public, what may become public, who is affected, and what response—if any—is appropriate.
Reputation Recovery
Not every client comes to us while the crisis is happening.
Sometimes the immediate situation has passed, but the damage remains.
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Negative articles may continue appearing in search results. An old controversy may dominate someone's online presence. A professional may have moved forward personally or professionally while the public information available about them has not.
In those situations, our focus shifts from crisis response to reputation recovery.
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That may involve developing a new communications strategy, securing appropriate media opportunities, highlighting professional accomplishments, rebuilding a personal brand, developing stronger owned content, improving a client's public presence, or creating a longer-term campaign that gives the public and media something current and meaningful to associate with the individual or organization.
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We do not promise to erase the internet or guarantee that negative coverage will disappear. Reputation management is about building a stronger and more accurate body of information around a client over time.
Crisis Planning & Preparation
Clients do not have to wait until something goes wrong to work with us.
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Black Diamond can help athletes, executives, organizations, teams, and businesses develop crisis communication plans before they are needed. This can include identifying likely areas of risk, determining who will speak on behalf of an organization, establishing internal response procedures, developing messaging guidelines, preparing for difficult media questions, and conducting media training.
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Having those conversations in advance can make an enormous difference when an actual issue occurs.
Confidential Crisis
Consultations
We understand that people often contact a crisis management firm when they are dealing with a situation they do not want broadly discussed.
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Initial consultations are handled discreetly, and prospective clients are encouraged to provide enough information for us to understand the nature and urgency of the situation.
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For active or time-sensitive matters, please indicate that your request involves an urgent crisis matter when contacting our office so that our team can appropriately prioritize the inquiry.
Need Help Managing
a Difficult Situation?
Whether you know a story is coming, have already been contacted by the media, are dealing with an issue gaining attention online, or are trying to repair the effects of an earlier controversy, contact Black Diamond to discuss your situation.
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Request a Confidential Crisis Consultation
Black Diamond provides public relations, communications, reputation management, and strategic advisory services. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice or legal representation.