PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCY’S ROLES IN MANAGING CRISIS: THE CASE STUDY OF WEBER SHANDWICK INDONESIA MANAGING FACEBOOK – CAMBRIDGE DATA ANALYTICA CASE

Abstract

In this fast-paced era of communication, reputation is needed to improve and maintain the company existence. A crisis can interrupt normal business and sometimes threaten the existence and the reputation of an organization. In time of crisis where reputation and image of a company is in danger, the role of Public Relations is needed. Public relations as a discipline which looks after reputation, aims to established and maintain good will as well as mutual understanding between an organization and its public. The purpose of this research is to find out how Weber Shandwick Indonesia managed the Facebook – Cambridge Data Analytica Scandal in Indonesia. This research focuses on the strategies of Webers Shandwick Indonesia as a PR agency in managing crisis. By using in-depth interview, the research finding was collected from one informant. Besides that, the researcher also used documents to support and validate the primarily data obtained from indepth interview. The researcher purposively conducted in-depth interview with the Vice President of Weber Shandwick Indonesia applying qualitative research method with case study approach. The findings of the research showed that during the crisis Weber Shandwick Indonesia managed Facebook’s crisis with crisis communication where it is divided into several phases, pre-crisis phase, crisis response phase and post-crisis phase.