Editor’s Note:  This is the second in a three-part video commentary series by Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media.  Doug takes a deep dive into the strategic communications issues tied to the Presidential transition of power.  In Part I, Doug’s focus is Obamacare.  In Part II,  Doug discusses the impact of Trump’s use of Twitter in his campaign and transition into the White House. In Part III, Doug talks about the need to be proactive when your brand is under attack. Individual corporations are being singled out for criticism by Donald Trump. Doug Simon, CEO of D S Simon Media, says if you need to activate your crisis plan, it’s too late. 

Video Transcript:Individual corporations are in the sights of Donald Trump. What should you be doing? I’m Doug Simon, CEO of DS Simon Media with some advice. I recently read a New York Times article that spoke with crisis communicators and covered key points to put a crisis plan together. Guess what? If you need to activate a crisis plan, it’s too late. You don’t have the firepower to compete with the Trump machine. And you won’t. It’s only going to get stronger. So what should you do? You need to be proactive. What does that mean? Don’t take him on, but build relationships with media and key influencers. Get your story out.Be more ambitious in and how you’re approaching the media, telling more compelling stories to different audiences so you have a strong base. One often forgotten approach– establish your experts. They’re more likely to help you earn media than relying on third-party spokesperson. That was from our recent media survey that we conducted. Very interesting. So you have to be proactive. The good news, from my standpoint, is that’s going to be very good for our business, helping organizations get their messages out. It’s important you do it right away, or you’re going to be fighting with a very weak crisis communications plan.