With the spring cherry blossoms in full bloom and the sun shining it was an excellent week to visit DC for our third PRWeek Crisis Comms Conference.
The streets were strangely quiet, especially during morning rush hour, possibly due to the impending spring break and the fact that tens of thousands of people have recently been relieved of their jobs in federal government and are no longer commuting into the city to work.
Suits and ties are more in evidence in the seat of national and international power, but the pace is a little slower than it is in the PR capital New York City. It would be difficult to imagine New Yorkers having the patience to wait a full 90 seconds at a traffic intersection to cross the street.
But once the days get going, the pace picks up and there is an extremely active networking and social scene around the bars, clubs and restaurants.
On Tuesday, a sellout crowd enjoyed a day of fantastic insights, expertise and perspectives from top practitioners including three former White House operatives, two on the Republican side – Judy Smith and Brian Besanceney – and one Democrat, Katy Hill.
Their expertise and calm demeanors shone through, in addition to their willingness to inspire themselves and their teams to run toward the fire in a crisis, not away from it. Judy Smith advised not talking too much in the first 24 hours. But also not obsessing about being perfect before getting a reponse out. You can get a flavor of the excellent perspectives on display in the latest edition of The PR Week podcast.
And there was general agreement that the CEOs and C-suites of businesses and organizations all now recognize the importance of having comms in the room when strategies are being constructed, crises responded to and problems hammered out.
At these times a clear head, straightforward plan and coherent instruction so everyone is on the same page is vital. And this was backed up by other panelists and practitioners, including during a super-informative interactive practical session led by Josh Morton from Nestlé Zone Americas and Pallavi Kumar from American University.
As MikeWorldWide’s Carreen Winters pointed out on LinkedIn, the phrase perma-crisis popped up a few times during the day, a state that requires readiness, resilience and staying power, rather than a Red Adair blowout-style response.
Visiting public affairs, corporate comms and strategic counsel firms in DC the day after the conference reinforced the priorities required in these unprecedented and febrile times.
Matt Reid, U.S. CEO of Burson Buchanan, confirmed that tariffs were top of everyone’s mind as the “single biggest issue around the world.” His firm is helping clients navigate the shifting role of the U.S. in the global economy and political landscape, both in DC and other important markets around the world.
Many clients are acting as though they are in a recession right now, though the ‘R’ word is whispered softly as it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The services most in demand in DC and beyond are high-level strategic counsel and navigating and communicating around them. And DC is the epicenter of the world right now on geopolitics and the economy.
Strategic comms firm Bully Pulpit International’s office is situated across the street from the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, “a new museum dedicated to education, finance, and entrepreneurship.”
One wag suggested that the building devoted to the American Dream is a fitting metaphor given that the only part of it that is formally open is the three-floor private Ned’s Club above the Milken Center.
In DC, it feels as though private equity is more important than the marketing services holding companies, though Omnicom has invested smartly in red, blue and nonpartisan shops such as Plus Communications and FP1 Strategies to add to existing portfolio agencies in the space including Vox and GMMB.
What really shone through the conference and visits with DC firms was the high level of counsel being provided by in-house PR pros to their stakeholders and by agencies to their clients. That’s heartening to discover in these times when comms pros are helping their brands and organizations navigate the biggest issues in the world.