Multi-million-dollar crisis response sharpened with media strategy and insights their internal team couldn’t see.
Nov 26, 2025
“Our objective was to validate our response and see if Caroline had any new ideas to add to the mix. In such a short amount of time, we were really impressed with how detailed her responses were and we took away some new insights to not only validate but advance our thinking.”
A fast-growing Australian skincare brand faced an industry-wide issue that triggered intense scrutiny across both traditional media and social platforms. Customer trust was shaky, sales had softened going into peak season and every public move risked becoming part of a much larger category narrative out of their control.
Now in recovery mode, the founder was juggling conflicting advice, a fatigued internal team and a desire to take control over the narrative. They wanted answers to:
Are we responding in the right way?
What matters now?
What will the next phase look like and how visible should we be?
After hearing plenty of conventional advice from lawyers and agencies, they were looking for an honest external assessment of their current media approach from an expert who really understood both newsrooms and social feeds.
What we did
Rather than rehash the guidance they’d already been given, I gave the founder an outsider’s read on how the crisis was playing out: what journalists and influencers were still covering, how their response was being interpreted across different channels and PR moves that could accidentally feed the broader narrative.
During our consulting session, we mapped the likely trajectory of the crisis, including timings, and pinpointed trust and messaging challenges.
The founder left with a clearer understanding of what phase of the crisis they were in, what to expect next and which actions could genuinely help rebuild trust without drawing unnecessary attention or overcorrecting under pressure.
The results
By the end of the session, the founder:
Gained a new perspective on how social media feeds mainstream media that hadn’t surfaced internally, giving them a stronger foundation for upcoming PR decisions
Identified gaps and risks in their public statements and communications
Advice for how to reengage with media and when
Analysis on where their messaging was landing as intended and where it may be misinterpreted
Left with a clearer sense of which communications would rebuild trust and which would keep the issue alive
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“Caroline provides a unique perspective: she understands traditional media while also living on social media. For brands with a social presence, you’re only doing half the job if you don’t incorporate the full media landscape in crisis planning and response. Her grasp of both was invaluable in thinking through the challenges we highlighted.
“I would thoroughly recommend engaging Caroline early on, either before an actual crisis or immediately afterwards in outlining a clear plan and seeking direction on each stage of the crisis as it evolves. It helps that Caroline was lovely to deal with as well as being super knowledgeable.”
