What Should Michael Jackson Do Now? Lessons In Crisis Management

3. Utilize the Internet as part of the recreation of Michael Jackson
What better way to say thank you to a loyal fan base right at this moment than to release a song onto the Internet for free download? Ideally, this would be a new song, written to honor the occasion, but it could also be classic Jackson, maybe a live concert cut with some words from Michael at the beginning or end to thank the fans that stuck by him throughout this period.

4. Get back on stage and into the studio, now
Michael built his career on music. The best way to recreate that career will be through music.

If I were Michael, I would call up that star-studded cast of trial witnesses, and ask to do duets with them in their next concert. That's the fastest way to get back out there.

Then I'd do a 6-city "Victory" thank-you tour in the US on the way to a full tour schedule in Europe, Asia and Africa where his exposure has been lower.

Since that will take 6 months to assemble, I'd spend 3 14-hour days a week in the studio cutting a new (no greatest hits allowed) album, with songs that take the classic Jackson sound and meld it with a bit of hip hop and rap. Show them on stage as part of the tour, and introduce some new moves to the Jackson arsenal.

It's going to be hard, as I'm sure that Michael would prefer to retreat, get healthy, and recover. But a career's (and a 50% stake in Beatles' discography!) at stake here, and speed is of the essence.

5. Avoid the very appearance of impropriety
No more kids sleeping in the bedroom.

In fact, I recommend that Michael go so far as to get a new pet cause. His past focus on trying to recreate the childhood he never had is simply too dangerous now.

Simply stated - it's time to grow up. Sorry, Michael, but you're an adult now.

He may want to consider donating his Neverland park equipment to some charitable organization for kids, on the condition that it is removed from his property. He certainly should bag the idea of a theme park in Africa, and stop focusing on children's causes. Those come too close to appearance of impropriety.

There's lots of other, very worthy causes out there. It's time to find one.

Now let's get general again and look back at this list of recommendations and why we're making them.

The interviews and the book are designed to support the message of innocent in a court of law.

The other three recommendations (free song release, getting back on stage and avoiding the appearance of impropriety) are ways for Michael to begin to rebuild his brand.

This is how PR works - taking general principles that work, then putting specifics into place that fit your particular situation.

PR masters have to do both - they have to clearly understand the basic concepts upon which successful publicity is built. Then they have to be creative and innovative in applying them in their situation.

My recommendation - look at your company and brainstorm 5 potential crises that could affect you sometime in the next 5 years. Choose one that has some interesting lessons to be learned in the area of crisis management.

Then call your management team together, and present a simulation. Have them imagine that your selected scenario just occurred. Then take the four principles outlined in this article, (make an assumption for point one that it's either true or untrue) and put an action plan together to deal with that specific situation.

You can make it as realistic as you wish, maybe even writing out the press release and having some people play the role of media sticking microphones in the faces of management and asking tough questions.

Afterwards, debrief the team and ask for lessons learned.

It will probably be a very valuable exercise, not only for the lessons learned, but for the experience of having lived through the simulation.

Because if it ever happens...

For more information on how to prepare for crises, check out our training manual Crisis Communication Planning

Tags: Michael Jackson crisis management