- Case Study -
Crisis Communications
The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange giant FTX called into question the stability of crypto, creating an immediate, industry-wide crisis as investors scrambled and regulation conversations grew. Next PR needed to support its client who had assets locked in FTX to protect the company’s brand and reputation, which were both at risk.
THE CHALLENGE
The FTX fallout shined a spotlight on the volatility of the crypto industry and cost crypto investors billions of dollars, sending the total market value plummeting. Next PR’s objective was to reinforce its crypto client’s reputation as a trustworthy partner and position it as the voice of reason amid industry chaos.
HOW WE GOT THERE
With the evolving crypto industry, Next PR had to work in real-time, channeling its crisis communications knowledge and gathering insight from around the industry to determine the best path forward. The first step was auditing the market to see what companies were tweeting, who was participating in conversations and if any formal statements were being issued.
With the market analysis prepared, the team’s strategy centered around being forthcoming with the facts of the situation. Rumors on the state of crypto were rampant and the media lacked an honest and trustworthy source for insight. In response, Next PR guided the client to share candid statements on Twitter clarifying its relationships with the affected firms and carefully choosing which sources should comment on different topics surrounding the crisis.
The team prepared spokespeople, including the C-suite and legal/compliance leaders, and built their confidence in speaking with reporters through a series of role-plays with tough questions and pivot practice.
The FTX fallout unraveled during a holiday week, leading Next PR to establish an on-call schedule with the account team across all U.S. time zones and set up alerts through tools including Sprout Social, BuzzSumo and Signal AI to receive notifications each time the client was mentioned.
Next PR created a shared document, adding all media and social interactions as they occurred and keeping the client informed in real-time. In a fear-ridden environment where crypto companies were ignoring reporters, the team responded to incoming requests by confirming receipt and a promise to respond quickly to maintain relationships.
The team also turned to its established relationships with top media outlets covering the space – including Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Axios and Forbes – to get ahead of the conversation and control the narrative.
0%
Increase in Twitter Engagement
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Inbound Reporter Requests Post-Crisis
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New Twitter Followers
THE RESULTS
Throughout a hectic week of midnight conference calls, the team crafted five media statements and handled 16 inbound reporter requests, including those from Forbes, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and CoinDesk.
Next PR issued 19 tweets for the client, 16 replies, increased the brand’s Twitter follower count by 601, garnered 232 direct mentions and received a 1352% increase in total engagement compared to the previous month.
Since the fallout, the client has received over 25 inbound requests from reporters looking for accurate, reliable commentary on the volatile crypto market. One Forbes reporter even shared, “I love using you as a source to speak to trending news because you get back to me quickly and you don’t bullshit me about what it means for the market.”
The team also received accolades from the client’s leadership team. After a negative tweet was posted by a reporter, Next PR drafted a client statement that led to the reporter removing his post. The client shared, “Thank you for guiding us – this is the best-case scenario.”