Working in crisis management means constantly struggling to have reporters cover your clients in a fair and complete fashion.

This is particularly true when it comes to headlines, many of which fall firmly into the "clickbait" category today.

Take the recent coverage of an (admittedly uncool) internal email from an Applebee's franchise group exec encouraging managers of the stores they owned to take advantage of the current economy to hire workers at lower hourly rates.

Like I said, not cool. Here's my point though - check out a couple examples of headlines for coverage of this story from major media outlets...

• Applebees Exec: High Gas Prices Mean We Can Pay Lower Wages. (Inc.)
• Skyrocketing gas prices are an ‘advantage’ that could be used to pay employees less, Applebee’s exec says. (Fortune)
• Applebee's exec says high gas prices could help them cut wages. (CBS News)
• PR experts on how Applebee’s can recoup trust after backlash from exec’s leaked email. (The Drum)

Applebee's actually came out quickly against the message, telling the Kansas City Star that, “He doesn’t have the authority to create policy for our company for the brand or anything. ... Maybe he wrote it in the middle of the night. I don’t know,” going on to elaborate with, ”The main message here is that this in absolutely no way, shape, or form speaks to our policies or our culture, or anything like that with our brand.”

Within days this executive, who, again, worked at a franchise group which owned Applebee's locations, not AT or FOR Applebee's itself in any way, was sacked, yet these headlines remain to damage the reputation of the brand as a whole. This isn't a one-off, but a pattern that's repeated in various forms every single day for hundreds of brands.

Sometimes outrage-induced pressure on brands is a result of their direct actions or choices, sometimes it happens as a result of something completely outside of their control. Quick reaction from Applebee's corporate stopped this one from spiraling into a long-term disaster, but there's no denying there was significant reputation damage done.

While it's tempting to think that a major, headline-creating, protest-inducing crisis can't happen to your brand, pretending it's impossible is a quick road to reputation regrets. If, "Misbehavior By A Franchisee or Outside Representative" isn't a category in your crisis management plan (or if you don't have a plan at all!) now might be the time to get to work.

Erik Bernstein
erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

Bernstein Crisis Management is a specialized firm dedicated, since January 1994, to providing rapid, highly effective strategies for preventing and managing crisis situations that harm people, property, business continuity, reputation and the financial bottom line. We guide our clients through every step of the crisis management process, from preparation to response, and are available 24/7 for assistance. Our more than 30 years of experience assisting clients worldwide makes us an absolute authority on preventing and responding to crisis situations.

www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com