Bad PR can be the beginning of the end for some companies, and an Actually Good comms firm will suggest a hell of a lot more than "say sorry/say nothing/post through it." In most cases, hoping it'll just "go away" is stupid, at best.
After working with many founders during a PR crisis, here the advice you get for each price level. Hopefully it will save you some money.
1. In-house Comms
• Cost: $0
• Advice: Put out an apology and announce changes, which will subsequently get picked apart by every critic.
• Cycle Length: 2 years or more
2. Mid-tier Comms Agency
• Cost: $10,000 retainer
• Advice: Go silent, don’t say anything.
• Cycle Length: Goes away in 2 weeks
3. S-tier ex-Whitehouse Crisis Firm
• Cost: $50,000 retainer
• Advice: Just post through it like nothing happened.
• Cycle Length: Goes away in 48 hours