The most important PR plan is the backup plan

Formula 1 is my favorite motorsport and it’s not just because the cars go fast.

Sure, they go fast, but the races are usually won by strategy. During every race, they air the radio communications between the drivers and their crew, and you’ll inevitably hear one or both say, “We need to move to Plan B.”

“Plan B” has never been more important for public relations than it has been in the past year—or will be in the next year.

We are marking a string of painful one-year anniversaries when it comes to COVID-19 and the impact the pandemic has had on all walks of life. As we turn a hopeful eye to the future, there will be some indelible impacts. As only one example, the trend toward remote work is not going anywhere in the future – though I hope we’ll Zoom a lot less.

Similarly, for us in communications, we learned valuable lessons about how less-than-valuable plans can be if there’s no good backup plan. The past year has felt like a never-ending crisis communication plan, and there’s value in that thinking for the months ahead.

All plans should emulate crisis plans