Issues & Crisis Management Consultants | CoFactor

Guiding you through a crisis and navigating sensitive and complex issues

In a digital age where crises go viral in minutes, incidents can quickly tarnish your brand and impact your business. Not responding, or doing so poorly, can turn manageable crises into disasters with significant consequences.

CoFactor’s expert crisis communication service focuses on preparing for and mitigating issues and crises in advance.

When faced with a crisis situation, we are by our client's side. We help them rapidly assess their needs; navigate the media, legal and regulatory landscape; and formule a strategic plan to stabilise key relationships and shape stakeholder opinions.

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Preparing for crises in advance

Crisis Management Plans

A Crisis Management Plan ensures an affected organisation can act quickly when a critical incident or crisis arises. They can utilise a pre-prepared framework to work through key steps. Immediate and intelligent decision making by a crisis management team can limit the potential reputational damage, financial implications and legal liability faced by the organisation and its stakeholders. We develop and refresh company Crisis Management Plans, in preparation for the types of crisis scenarios most likely to affect your organisation. We help you identify the roles and responsibilities of the crisis team, and document specific response actions.

Crisis Communication Plans - communication strategy and messaging

Effective crisis communication is integral in the protection of people, assets and brands. Organisations that wait to respond, hesitate or lack visibility of action create uncertainty and anger. This can impact the reputation and value of a company. A CoFactor Crisis Communication Plan will enable you to respond promptly, accurately and confidently post-crisis. Our plans include key messages, media and holding statements for the crisis scenarios most relevant to impact your organisation.

Crisis-Ready Assessment

To effectively respond to issues and crises, it is important to understand the gaps that exist in your organisation’s crisis response capability. Have one of our experts assess your company’s readiness to manage a crisis and provide recommendations for improvement.

Expert support during a crisis

24/7 crisis support and communication counsel

We work closely with senior management, boards, lawyers and in-house communications teams. We are there to guide your response and communications to best position your organisation and the circumstances.

Media management

In today’s fast-paced and relentless news cycle, any delays in communicating can be highly detrimental to the crisis situation and the organisation. We help clients prepare considered, timely media responses, and meaningfully engage with journalists, to manage through incidents and protect reputation.

Litigation communications

We help clients through the challenging process of being in the public eye in all stages of a legal proceeding, parliamentary inquiries and regulatory investigations. We assist clients in communicating through cases and inquiries, shaping stakeholder behaviour, deterring negative media, and rebuilding reputation after an adverse judgment.

Reputation recovery

We help recover the reputations of people and organisations. We navigate the business, media and online landscape, and formulate a strategic plan to stabilise key relationships and shape stakeholder opinions.

Our experience

CoFactor is one of the highest-performing crisis management firms in Australia. Our team has deep experience guiding governments, organisations and their leadership through highly sensitive and complex issues. From data breaches to cyberattacks, employee misconduct, blackmail, aggressive media and social media exposure, we’ve managed a wide variety of incidents and crises.

Our crisis management experts know that unprecedented situations can be stressful and uncertain. We provide measured, discrete advice and conduct ourselves with empathy and care for your situation. Our best practice approach will help you successfully navigate sensitive issues and crises.

Our experienced team has been involved in:

Handling highly sensitive cases of alleged employee and executive misconduct: Handling highly sensitive cases of alleged employee and executive misconduct
Formulating advice and a stakeholder engagement strategy to the board of a publicly owned company regarding whistleblower allegations: Formulating advice and a stakeholder engagement strategy to the board of a publicly owned company regarding whistleblower allegations
Preparing bespoke Crisis Management and Communication Plans for SMEs and industry leading Australian brands and companies: Preparing bespoke Crisis Management and Communication Plans for SMEs and industry leading Australian brands and companies
Developing a Crisis Communication Plan and strategy for a large Australian business including holding statements for its most likely crisis scenarios: Developing a Crisis Communication Plan and strategy for a large Australian business including holding statements for its most likely crisis scenarios
Advising and supporting a renowned entertainment company’s crisis response and communication strategy to a high-profile ABC report of alleged company and industry impropriety: Advising and supporting a renowned entertainment company’s crisis response and communication strategy to a high-profile ABC report of alleged company and industry impropriety
Managing internal and external incident communication across potential technology outages, data breaches and sensitive issues for a top 10 ASX-listed company: Managing internal and external incident communication across potential technology outages, data breaches and sensitive issues for a top 10 ASX-listed company
Advising a prominent Australian company and brand on a contrition strategy and apology to hundreds of thousands of Australian customers following a major company incident, as well as the subsequent reputation repair strategy: Advising a prominent Australian company and brand on a contrition strategy and apology to hundreds of thousands of Australian customers following a major company incident, as well as the subsequent reputation repair strategy
Advising the board of a leading Australian company on improvements to their Crisis Management and Communication Plan, and focus areas for their crisis response team: Advising the board of a leading Australian company on improvements to their Crisis Management and Communication Plan, and focus areas for their crisis response team
Crisis ready assessments for SMEs and guiding them to implement recommendations for improvement for crisis management: Crisis ready assessments for SMEs and guiding them to implement recommendations for improvement for crisis management
Helping a leading company respond to damaging allegations from a senior business journalist with an imminent reporting timeframe. This involved methodically shaping and communicating the incident, which resulted in scuttling the story: Helping a leading company respond to damaging allegations from a senior business journalist with an imminent reporting timeframe. This involved methodically shaping and communicating the incident, which resulted in scuttling the story
Responding to challenging questions from governments and regulators that threatened an organisation (and the wider industry’s) operating environment: Responding to challenging questions from governments and regulators that threatened an organisation (and the wider industry’s) operating environment
Advising an AFR Fast 100 Company on the crisis scenarios most likely to affect their business: Advising an AFR Fast 100 Company on the crisis scenarios most likely to affect their business
Undertaking a crisis-ready assessment and diagnosis for a leading health provider and providing recommendations for improvement to the board: Undertaking a crisis-ready assessment and diagnosis for a leading health provider and providing recommendations for improvement to the board
Providing 24/7 crisis and and communication support for companies following major data breaches impacting customers and partners: Providing 24/7 crisis and and communication support for companies following major data breaches impacting customers and partners
Providing crisis support to a construction company following a natural disaster, which caused significant property damage, business disruption, as well as impacted customers and staff: Providing crisis support to a construction company following a natural disaster, which caused significant property damage, business disruption, as well as impacted customers and staff
Pre-briefing of prominent journalists during an unfolding company crisis to establish a fact base and help mitigate misinformation and innuendo: Pre-briefing of prominent journalists during an unfolding company crisis to establish a fact base and help mitigate misinformation and innuendo
Preparing key messages for a crisis spokesperson ahead of media press conferences: Preparing key messages for a crisis spokesperson ahead of media press conferences
Managing media and stakeholder relations during a major technology outage for a FTSE 100 owned company during a peak day of the year: Managing media and stakeholder relations during a major technology outage for a FTSE 100 owned company during a peak day of the year
Managing multiple high-profile media stories for a Victorian Government Minister and a leading Government department: Managing multiple high-profile media stories for a Victorian Government Minister and a leading Government department
Providing a financial services company with a dedicated stakeholder communication plan as they faced an all-consuming crisis, which resulted in both better understanding in the moment and an improvement of ongoing relationships: Providing a financial services company with a dedicated stakeholder communication plan as they faced an all-consuming crisis, which resulted in both better understanding in the moment and an improvement of ongoing relationships
Advice to a private enterprise firm on reputation repair strategy following an allegation of impropriety affecting client confidence: Advice to a private enterprise firm on reputation repair strategy following an allegation of impropriety affecting client confidence
Advising a senior executive linked to an adverse regulatory investigation into a major Australian company, regarding media support, and a strategic plan to stabilise key relationship and positively shape stakeholder opinions: Advising a senior executive linked to an adverse regulatory investigation into a major Australian company, regarding media support, and a strategic plan to stabilise key relationship and positively shape stakeholder opinions