ICYMI: Vested Offers a Crisis Crash-Course at PRSA’s Impact25 Conference

Recently, we had the opportunity to join other corporate communications pros from across the industry at the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Impact 2025 Conference. We heard from peers and industry leaders as they shared the trends shaping the future of PR, from the shifting role of AI to how to pitch a Substacker. 

We had the pleasure of running a mock crisis exercise focused on a major cyberattack  on a global brand. The 90-minute session revealed several important insights. It highlighted truths, trends, and common gaps that communicators face in today’s high-pressure environment. Information spreads rapidly, while misinformation spreads even faster, often fueled by the vitriol of social media. All of this unfolds within an unrelenting news cycle that’s eager to place blame.

Here are the key points we drilled down on:

1. Know when you are really dealing with a crisis.

So, what exactly is a crisis? It’s not just a thorny issue or an unexpected newscycle; it’s a situation that threatens to disrupt normal business operations and the short- and long-term health of a brand’s reputation. Think of it as a set of events that can fundamentally shift how an organization operates, causing significant instability.

Often, an issue can be avoided from becoming a crisis when it is handled proactively, swiftly, and through effective communication with all relevant audiences. However, as important as it is to react swiftly to a crisis, it’s equally as important not to overreact and turn a manageable issue into a full-scale crisis.

2. Clear and timely communications with all core audiences are crucial.

Communications teams play a crucial role in thoroughly assessing the situation, including understanding the risks, scenario planning, identifying stakeholders involved, and evaluating business response plans being developed by the C-suite. This means CCOs and other communications leaders need to have a seat at the table in a crisis scenario to consult on how a company’s response to a crisis will affect the perception and well-being of any given audience. 

Knowing how to respond is one thing, knowing when is another. The recent Astronomer/Cold Play crisis underscores the importance of speed-to-market when it comes to crisis response. Astronomer waited a whopping 24+ hours to respond, allowing the internet to take control of the narrative, spread false and erroneous information, and create a litany of legal, reputational, and business continuity issues for the company. 

The Astronomer crisis is proof that crisis planning should be a board-managed exercise and that no crisis scenario, no matter how seemingly unrealistic it seems, is unrealistic. Leadership teams that lack a crisis plan or fail to allocate time for rehearsing it are doing a disservice to a company’s primary stakeholders, especially employees and investors who stand to lose the most from an inadequate response. 

3. Stay calm. This too shall pass.

PR professionals act as a voice of reason, helping to shape the narrative and tone, prepping leadership, and ultimately, protecting that all-important trust in the brand. Maintaining that trust with internal and external stakeholders requires staying calm under fire, leading with clarity, and being the source of truth. 

The best crisis communicators are not order-takers. They’re not there to clean up the mess or put lipstick on the pig. Their role is to advise and help shape policy, be the first and last line of defense for the brand’s reputation, and ensure that leadership teams understand the gravity of the situation and the potential impacts of their decisions during a crisis. 

The only certainty about crises is that one will eventually root itself at your company’s doorstep. Hoping it won’t happen or that it will handle itself is not a strategy; it’s a recipe for failure. As a comms pro, now is the time to take initiative and prepare your company and leadership team for the inevitable.