That’s the time your company or organisation has to respond to an emerging crisis before you start to lose control of the message. If your voice is not heard in that time, it’s harder to get on top of the story.

15 minutes? The facts aren’t even known in 15 minutes! You can’t investigate in 15 minutes. There’s nothing to say. But it’s no longer a choice. Organisations that have experienced a major issue or crisis say their biggest shock was that everything happened much quicker than they expected. 

15 minutes. It can’t be a comprehensive response and it doesn’t even have to inform. It merely has to acknowledge, reassure and ensure your voice is heard. It’s impossible to respond in 15 minutes if you are not prepared with a crisis communications plan that has pre-approved holding statements. This is vital to protecting your reputation in a crisis.