Recently, #HurricaneIrma struck South Florida and left a path of destruction including fallen trees, power outages, down power lines and flooding. Working in PR, we understand that while natural disasters are unavoidable, we need to be prepared and one step ahead, not only for ourselves, but for our clients. In addition to preparing our homes and insuring the safety of our families, the D&Co Dynamos of Fort Lauderdale PR firm Durée & Company also prepped for Mother Nature with the following:
- Prep: In preparation for the storm, we reviewed future events, pitches and social media content to ensure that content was appropriate and timely. We also organized our tasks to work remotely, saving important documents, requesting remote access to our server from our IT team, and bringing home all necessary materials. While our office was closed, we were prepared to work though the storm. Thank you to Dynamic Support for setting up the remote server in case of emergencies like this and also being available at all times to sort out any IT problems we had.
- Checking in with Clients: We checked in with clients to make sure they were safe and prepared. Safety is our first priority, and we wanted to make sure their offices and homes were prepared for disaster.
- Working Remotely: During the storm, it was important for us to organize our files. Since our shared server with client documents is located in the office, we communicated with each other to make sure everything was saved in the remote server, for easy accessibility if power was lost at the office. As a result, we made sure to not skip a beat and kept everything status quo!
- Constant Communication: While our office was physically closed, we communicated with our clients for updates on their businesses. Through phone and email, we kept in touch and made sure everything was running smoothly on both ends.
- National Clients: While some of our clients are local and were directly affected by the hurricane, we have several national clients who still required our undivided attention. As a result, we made sure to give them quality work as we would normally.
- Utilizing Social Media: We utilized social media to alert the public about openings and closings. Through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, we announced closures, for both our office and our clients, prior to the storm and openings after the storm passed.
- Media Relations: We communicated with media outlets via email and social media about the status of our clients’ businesses before and after the hurricane. We kept track of publications and their content regarding the storm in order to get clients exposure when applicable.
You never know what Mother Nature may throw your way, so having a plan in place will make you prepared for anything. Working through a natural disaster can be stressful, but when you have a team that’s ready to tackle anything, it makes it a little easier. Now we’re onto rescheduling events that were canceled due to the storm and counting down the days until hurricane season is over.
About Durée & Company
Durée & Company, Inc. is an award-winning full-service public relations, marketing and special events firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Aspen, Colorado. The firm serves the corporate, agency and non-profit arenas for local, national and international clients focusing on public relations for real estate, public relations for restaurants, public relations for law firms, public relations for charities, public relations for healthcare, and many more. Durée & Company services include Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Special Events, and Radio Promotions and Outreach.
