How to Find the Best Crisis PR Expert (And Why Most People Get It Wrong)
When a public scandal hits, most people assume they need a big-name PR firm to make it go away. They start Googling, skimming through lists of “best crisis PR experts,” and picking the one with the most followers or the flashiest website. (No idea how you landed on this website if you did that ha ha).
That’s the first mistake.
The real work of crisis PR doesn’t happen on a company’s Instagram page. It happens behind closed doors, on encrypted calls, and through quiet removals before anyone even realises something was an issue.
If you’re looking for a crisis PR expert, you need someone who can actually fix the problem… Not just talk about how good they are at it. Here’s what to look for.
1. If They’re Shouting About Their Clients, They’re Not the Right Person
Crisis PR is not about showing off. If someone is bragging about the high-profile names they’ve worked with, ask yourself one thing: how do they still have clients?
A good crisis expert values discretion above everything. If they’re willing to drop names, what’s stopping them from talking about you when a journalist comes knocking? Some PR agencies even require their clients to follow them on social media, which makes no sense. The goal is to get a client through the crisis without anyone realising PR was ever involved.
2. PR Statements Are Not Crisis Management
A well-worded statement is not a crisis strategy. It might calm things down for a day, but a real expert knows that the problem isn’t just the headlines—it’s what happens next.
A proper crisis plan includes:
• Press removal and correction. Some articles can be removed. Others can be updated. Knowing which is possible comes down to experience and the right contacts.
• Social media takedowns. If something is going viral for the wrong reasons, there are ways to reduce traction. Platforms won’t remove content just because you don’t like it, so it helps to know exactly what will and won’t be taken down.
• Search result management. Once something appears on Google, it doesn’t just disappear. There are ways to suppress negative results, but it’s not as simple as just “burying” them with good press.
A crisis PR expert is not just thinking about this week’s headlines. They’re thinking about what people will find when they Google your name next year.
3. A Fancy Office Doesn’t Mean Anything—Contacts Do
Some people assume that the bigger the PR firm, the better the results. That’s not how it works.
Crisis PR is not about having a team of interns drafting statements in a glass office. It’s about knowing the right people and having the right relationships. The best PR specialists are the ones who can call the right editor or platform contact and actually get something done, rather than spending hours in meetings discussing “potential strategies.”
I have a lovely office in Zone One London, just a five-minute walk from Liverpool Street station. Sounds impressive, right? But if I’m being completely honest… does it make me any better at my job? No. Laptops travel. I’ve worked in a sleek, glass-covered office block before, and that didn’t improve my work either. The truth is, the flashiest setup doesn’t always mean the best results. Some of my biggest successes have happened while I was in pyjamas.
4. A Crisis PR Expert Should Be Thinking Three Steps Ahead
There is a huge difference between someone who works in PR and someone who actually understands the psychology of public scandals.
• Some statements make things worse, not better.
• Sometimes silence is the best move, but only if it’s handled correctly.
• Some reputations can be repaired quickly. Others take years.
Crisis PR isn’t just about reacting. It’s about anticipating where a situation will go before it gets there and knowing how to manage it properly.
5. You Don’t Want Someone Using Your Crisis to Boost Their Own Profile
There is a difference between someone solving your problem and someone using your problem to promote themselves.
If your PR expert is sharing before-and-after screenshots of your Google search results, acting like your scandal was their personal project, or even hinting about you in interviews, they are not the right person.
A crisis PR expert should not be proud of your disaster. They should be handling it in a way that ensures you don’t have to talk about it ever again.
6. They Shouldn’t Take Every Client That Walks Through the Door
Not every crisis is something I can, or should, take on. Some situations are fully fixable, and every person has the potential to recover with the right strategy, but that doesn’t mean I’ll work with just anyone. I’ve spoken to potential clients, some of them huge names, and just didn’t click with them. Sometimes things don’t add up. If I can’t trust their side of the story or feel they’re not being fully transparent, I won’t take the case.
Then there are the clients who do get through that first stage but aren’t completely honest during the process. When the truth finally comes out, sometimes weeks in, it can completely derail a carefully planned strategy. A PR expert can only work with the information they’re given. If a client hides key details or twists the story, they risk making things worse for themselves, not better.
The best crisis PR experts assess every case individually. They don’t blindly defend every person who walks through the door and certainly don’t build strategies on shaky foundations. If something feels off, they walk away because the wrong client can cause just as much damage to their reputation as a crisis can to yours.
7. Awards Don’t Always Mean Excellence
When searching for the best crisis PR expert, it’s easy to be drawn in by impressive-looking awards. A shiny badge on a website, a title like “Best PR Firm of the Year,” it all sounds reassuring. But here’s the reality: most of these awards are meaningless.
I get emails every week asking if I’d like to “win” some PR or marketing award. The catch? It costs around £3,000 to secure my title, and they don’t even ask what work I’ve done before offering it. These aren’t awards based on merit, expertise, or real client results. They’re pay-to-play marketing tools designed to make agencies look more credible to people who don’t realise how the system works.
That’s not to say every award is fake. Some industry recognitions do hold weight, but they are few and far between. The real measure of a top crisis PR expert isn’t a trophy. It’s their ability to quietly fix problems, remove damaging content, and rebuild reputations without ever needing public recognition for it.
Do you want your crisis to be part of someone’s marketing strategy, helping them win an industry award? Or do you want someone who is actually focused on fixing the problem?
Finding the Right Fit
A real crisis PR expert is not just thinking about how to fix the problem today. They are thinking about how to ensure the problem doesn’t resurface in a year, five years, or when the press decides to dig it up again.
If you need someone who:
Has experience with high-stakes situations
Understands press, social media, and digital clean-up
Won’t use your crisis as a PR opportunity
Then you’re on the right track. Choose wisely, because in crisis management, the wrong PR move can make things worse.
Feel free to reach out…