Rakan bin Ali Al-Owais, Operations Director, Jummar PRThere has never been a time when it is more important for communications professionals to master the techniques and modern ideas of crisis management. In a world where communications are global, but audiences are local, do the same rules apply everywhere? This question struck me during a training course and specialised workshop on communication crisis management.
What caught my attention was that all the scenarios, case studies, and recommendations were based on incidents from Western markets, built on their own cultural context yet entirely different from ours in terms of societal culture and mindset. I was certain that if a local crisis were handled using the same methodology presented in the course, it would create an additional crisis of its own. Ignoring local culture and applying foreign methodologies to a domestic crisis will, inevitably, create an additional crisis of its own.
Crises are fundamentally shaped by the reactions of the community and how it is engaged, and these reactions are directly governed by local culture, values, and norms. Local culture defines how the public thinks, what upsets them, what triggers sensitivities, and what can be overlooked. What may pass quietly in one society can become a public opinion issue in another.
Therefore, it is impossible to build a communication crisis manual or plan without a deep understanding of the audience’s nature, mindset, and societal sensitivities. Without this understanding, scenarios become mere theoretical assumptions that may worsen the crisis instead of containing it.
We look with admiration at Western communication campaigns and theories. We benefit from global experiences in communication crisis management and learn how “Toyota” handled its crisis through the CEO’s famous bow. But the essential question is: can these solutions be replicated as they are and applied within our cultural context? Certainly not. What succeeds there may fail here and may even double the harm. The bow, for example, is a powerful gesture of apology in Japan. In a different society, however, it could be interpreted as weakness, unjustified submission, or understood in a completely different way.
While foundational concepts like scenario planning and setting communication protocols are universal necessities, it is the content of the scenarios that must be localised. It is essential that crisis management manuals and plans include scenarios shaped by local realities and local perspectives.
Over the past three years, the Saudi market has experienced a series of communication crises that could have been contained in their earliest stages. However, poor crisis management within the organisation itself allowed these situations to escalate.
A prominent example is a well-known restaurant chain that recently declared bankruptcy. Instead of containing the situation and capitalising on opportunities, the organisation chose to sacrifice its most senior figure on the very first day of the crises. This was the real problem: widespread circulation, comments from all directions, debates not only about the crisis itself but also about how it was handled, and even about the entire restaurant sector. One crisis turned into a cluster of intertwined crises because the communication approach was unsuitable.
Here lies the flaw in the excessive reliance on foreign firms to provide crisis communication consultancy. While they may possess global expertise, they often lack local social awareness and the ability to read public opinion and understand its cultural structure. Ignoring these details renders imported plans unsuitable.
Crisis management requires precise knowledge of what an apology means in this society, when silence is the solution, when clarification becomes necessary, and how to communicate in a way that preserves social dignity and meets public expectations.
In conclusion, persuading the target audience is not achieved by copying experiences but by adapting them. The success of any message depends on key elements rooted in understanding the audience’s culture, most importantly: the authenticity of the message, the appropriateness of its tone, and the selection of the right medium. Without these elements, crisis management becomes fuel for the crisis itself.
Having an expert who understands the pulse of society and the market is fundamental, not optional. Many crisis manuals have been implemented with good intentions, yet they created a new crisis rather than resolving the original ones.
By Rakan bin Ali Al-Owais, Operations Director, Jummar PR
