Crisis communication, an important concept in PR and itsrole cannot be over emphasized in any company. Encountered with any crisis that greatly negatively influences its reputation, any organization is supposed to have the awareness of crisis communication and then follows strategies of crisis management. A good case is demonstrated in China—Shanghai official metro weibo(ID: shmetro) (twitter in Chinese version) reaction to Shanghai subway accident.
On September 27, 2011，“a subway train slammed into the rear of another train in a sprawling transit line” as is reported in NYtimes.com lately. Shmetro released the first message at 14:10 to warn passengers of longer waiting intervals due to equipment failure. And then (at 14:40) it consecutively posted two messages on the apologies and claims on this initiative . In the next few hours, shmetro constantly released messages on the details of this accident and its treatment of the injuries. This issue ends with the public report on October 6, claiming the punishment of 12 officers .After the accident, shmetro released 27 messages in total covering warning, notification, and apology. This crisis management proved to be successful, which successfully comfort the massive people’s emotion, fulfilling its duty in charge of public transportation.
Even though I have no access to official decision-making process, it is obvious that its strategies just follow the right track of crisis planning, including identification of cause of problem, demonstration of responsible action and consistent messaging. Theories have been successfully translated to practice in such international metropolis. When faced with crisis, which should be avoided in advance, what administrators are supposed to do is not complaint and regret but positive attitude and counter-measurement with the guidance of crisis communication, which can also contribute into individual affairs.
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