crisis management

At its core, crisis management is control.

Control is the difference between survival and collapse. In a crisis, the wrong word, the wrong silence, or the wrong move can wipe out shareholder value, destroy years of brand equity, end a career, or destroy a life.

Executives, litigators, and public figures already face relentless pressure from stakeholders, investors, competitors, regulators, and the media. Add the speed of digital platforms and the volatility of public opinion, and even a single accusation or misstep can become unrecoverable.

Civilians, unprepared for the glare of media, investigative, or public attention, can easily make a misstep that turns a traumatic incident or tragedy into something that destroys lives.

Merrell Strategy exists to eliminate that risk. We turn uncertainty into clarity, fear into strategy, and chaos into controlled outcomes.

Corporate Brands

Brands are under constant attack. Market reputation is now shaped as much by perception as by performance. A poorly aged statement, a product recall, an executive scandal, or a digital smear campaign can erode consumer trust and investor confidence overnight.

Crisis Pain Points

  • Poorly timed or poorly aged marketing campaigns that trigger backlash

  • Executive or staff misconduct spilling into headlines and social media

  • Product recalls or service failures amplified by digital platforms

  • False or exaggerated claims weaponized by competitors or activists

  • Investigations, regulatory scrutiny, or shareholder litigation attracting media attention

  • Viral outrage campaigns fueled by competitors, disgruntled employees, former partners, or advocacy groups

Our Response

  • Anticipate vulnerabilities before they are exploited through proprietary risk analysis

  • Deploy rapid-response strategies that stabilize reputation and market confidence

  • Neutralize, silence, minimize, or villainize “bad actors” causing the problem.

  • Safeguard shareholder value by controlling narrative and limiting reputational contagion

  • Coordinate communications across media, digital platforms, regulators, and stakeholders to contain fallout and prepare for reentry

  • Create “phoenix” opportunities for corporations to reposition themselves post crisis.

Experience

  • Guided a Fortune 500 consumer brand through a viral backlash after a marketing campaign was labeled as offensive, containing reputational fallout within 72 hours

  • Managed crisis communications for a global retailer facing simultaneous product recalls in multiple jurisdictions

  • Neutralized a coordinated smear campaign against a financial services firm originating from activist groups and disgruntled former employees protesting an exposed executive

  • Supported a publicly traded tech company during regulatory investigation and shareholder litigation, protecting executive credibility and market capitalization

  • Launched successful campaign undermining a rival corporation’s bid on a major land project while strengthening client’s own bid.

  • Orchestrated crisis triage for a luxury goods brand targeted by counterfeit allegations and negative media coverage

Litigants

Litigation is no longer confined to the courtroom. In high profile matters, the battle for public opinion often overshadows the legal arguments. Headlines can influence jurors, shake lawyer and witness confidence, and pressure opposing counsel into settlement.

For parties drawn into litigation, the courtroom is only one front. Plaintiffs and defendants alike face reputations under attack, finances on the line, and in criminal matters the very real threat of incarceration. The fight is never just legal, it is personal, financial, and existential.

Crisis Pain Points

  • Media coverage shaping perception long before opening arguments are heard

  • Reputational damage to clients, family members, witnesses, experts, and counsel

  • Opposing parties leveraging press, social media, or advocacy groups to create pressure

  • Leaked documents, selective disclosures, or fabricated narratives gaining traction online

  • Parallel scrutiny from regulators, watchdogs, or community groups intensifying the spotlight

  • Post-trial fallout that lingers regardless of verdict, leaving careers and credibility in jeopardy

Our Response

  • Seize control of media and digital narratives so the case is not decided in the press

  • Design strategies that protect legal, reputational, and financial standing simultaneously

  • Neutralize opposition tactics aimed at influencing jurors or pressuring settlements through publicity

  • When advantageous, prosecute the case in the press to shape perception in the client’s favor

  • Safeguard clients, families, and legal teams from collateral damage and ensure pathways for reentry after litigation

Experience

  • Guided plaintiffs in complex mass-tort and human-rights cases, amplifying survivor voices while insulating them from retaliatory attacks

  • Protected high-profile defendants facing criminal allegations, stabilizing reputations and shielding families during intense media scrutiny

  • Countered opposition efforts to manipulate jury pools through leaks and orchestrated media campaigns in both civil and criminal trials

  • Reframed litigation narratives for individuals facing existential personal and financial threats, ensuring dignity and credibility were preserved

  • Supported corporate and individual defendants against regulatory investigations and parallel media attacks that threatened to overwhelm the legal case

  • Built post-trial recovery strategies for both victorious and defeated litigants, enabling them to reclaim public trust and protect future opportunities

Celebrities and Personalities

Public figures live in a constant state of exposure. A single accusation, leak, or viral post can ignite a firestorm that destroys reputation, sponsorships, and future opportunities. Careers are not lost because of one mistake but because a damning narrative is allowed to spiral out of control.

Crisis Pain Points

  • Accusations of misconduct, harassment, or decades-old impropriety resurfacing online

  • Extortion attempts from former partners, staff, or associates with access to private information

  • Sponsors, agencies, or managers cutting ties during scandal, leaving temporary gaps in support

  • Viral videos, deepfakes, and resurfaced posts used as “evidence” in the court of public opinion

  • Lawsuits, arrests, or messy personal disputes dragged into headlines

  • Paparazzi harassment, stalking, or doxing that endangers families and homes

  • Cultural or political backlash triggered by ill-judged comments, endorsements, or affiliations

Our Response

  • Intercept and neutralize online mobs before they dominate the narrative

  • Prevent accusations and digital attacks from being accepted as fact

  • Contain fallout with sponsors, agencies, and studios to preserve contracts and opportunities

  • Develop and deliver controlled narratives that restore credibility and prepare for reentry

Experience

  • Defused a high-profile harassment scandal for a leading entertainer, preserving core sponsorship deals despite widespread tabloid coverage

  • Contained reputational fallout after a viral video threatened to derail a public figure’s career, reframing the narrative within 48 hours

  • Neutralized extortion attempts from former insiders attempting to weaponize private communications against a celebrity client

  • Protected families of public figures from invasive paparazzi campaigns, doxing, and harassment during periods of heightened exposure

  • Guided a sports personality through political backlash after controversial public statements, restoring brand partnerships and public standing

  • Orchestrated reputational triage for an artist facing resurfaced decades-old allegations, preventing permanent career derailment

  • Designed comeback strategies for public figures returning after arrests, lawsuits, or substance-related scandals, ensuring a controlled reentry

Civilian Crises

Most civilians are unprepared for a crisis. When that crisis attracts the attention of the general public, a small group of persistent “bad actors,” or even a single nut, missteps can add additional danger to an already traumatic event.

In a 24-hour news cycle, victims are expected to share their experience on demand and are hounded if they don’t. Most respond by retreating. But, silence (while understandable) creates a vacuum filled with speculation, misinformation, and the claims of opportunists. With experienced intervention, the result can be devastating.


Crisis Pain Points

  • Families overwhelmed after school shootings, workplace violence, or other public tragedies

  • Victims and relatives of both perpetrators and victims subjected to intense media and community scrutiny

  • Stalking, harassment, or online exploitation escalating into threats to safety and reputation

  • Conspiracy theorists, political opportunists, or online mobs exploiting grief and trauma for attention

  • Invasive media coverage that exposes private lives and retraumatizes victims

Our Response

  • Provide immediate insulation and act as liaison with attorneys, law enforcement, and media

  • Control the narrative by managing information flow and countering misinformation

  • Remove abusive or defamatory digital content and neutralize online harassment campaigns

  • Build strategies for reentry, recovery, and long term protection of reputation and security

  • Support advocacy through nonprofit creation, awareness campaigns, and legislative engagement

Experience

  • Protected families of school shooting victims from conspiracy-driven harassment campaigns and invasive media coverage

  • Guided survivors of church and workplace mass-casualty incidents through media scrutiny, ensuring dignity and safety were preserved

  • Counseled relatives of high-profile crime perpetrators, including serial killers, and high-profile murderers, to prevent retaliation, stalking, and reputational ruin by association

  • Managed reputational and personal safety concerns for families of serial killer and high-profile murder victims targeted by opportunistic media and online exploiters

  • Defended civilians falsely implicated in Ponzi schemes and financial crimes, restoring reputations after online mobs assumed guilt

  • Supported COVID-era victims of targeted harassment campaigns, including frontline workers, whistleblowers, and families of the deceased

  • Protected and provided guidance for victims of “Karening,” post allegations, including establishing proof that the viral allegations were inaccurate and in some instances a part of a sophisticated extortion campaign

  • Stabilized community relations for families caught in the aftermath of police shootings, protecting them from political exploitation and community backlash

  • Crafted reentry and recovery strategies for civilians whose cases became tabloid fodder, ensuring long-term stability after the cameras moved on

The Bottom Line

A single accusation, headline, or digital campaign can erase market trust, destabilize leadership, end careers, and destroy lives. The speed of today’s media environment leaves no room for hesitation.

Survival requires immediate control, ruthless analysis, and decisive action.

Merrell Strategy delivers all three.