New firm claims to offer ‘real expertise’ in crisis management

EMQ and De Wintern Group have joined forces to launch a new crisis management consultancy, with co-founder David Van claiming that few PR agencies in Australia “have any real expertise” in the sector.

The combined offering – which has yet to be named – will offer ‘reputational protection’ for a client’s day to day operations as well as through communications.

“Every PR agency with a website seems to offer ‘crisis management’, but few have any real expertise and even those that do only offer the communications aspect of crisis management,” said Van, De Wintern’s MD, who has provided advice around the Esso Longford gas plant explosion and the Victorian bush fires.

“There is a huge difference between publicity and crisis management. We are trying to keep our clients out of the media rather than in it. It’s about stakeholder management. Once you’re in a crisis, there’s no such thing as spin,” he said.