By Kristin Snapp
Crisis management is an integral feature of nearly every public relations agency around the world, but few are as lucky to have a public affairs director as qualified and skilled as Heneghan PR.
The agency calls upon Eoghan Neachtain to handle all public affairs, a man who was formerly the press secretary of three governments – equivalent of the White House Press secretary
“He’s like Sean Spicer but smart,” Nigel Heneghan, managing director of the agency, joked.
Neachtain is skilled with dealing with the public over controversial matters, so he seemed a natural fit to Heneghan PR when they needed a public affairs manager.
Neachtain stressed the importance of having a crisis management plan in place before the crisis strikes.
“Is it a crisis, or is it an issue that could become a crisis? With bad management, it becomes a crisis,” Neachtain said. “The key to a successful outcome is to have a framework in place…and one that you’ve rehearsed.”
That’s why Heneghan’s clients go through a crisis rehearsal simulation, where everyone including media gets involved, so both Heneghan and the clients the agency represents can understand what to do should a crisis strike.
And that crisis struck for Silvercrest Foods in 2013, when the Department of Agriculture conducted a test that found the company’s beef to contain about 29 percent horse meat.
“From the time we got one phone call, for about eight weeks, it was 24/7,” Heneghan said. “Everyone in the building was on the phones.”
Heneghan won’t take just any client, either. Account manager Eve Noone says the PR agency will turn down clients if they’re not ready yet, or if the potential clients’ work is outside of Heneghan’s wheelhouse.
“If it’s not our expertise, if it’s not what we do, that’s not what we do,” Noone said. “We’re a company built on reputation, and that hurts our reputation.
Heneghan PR, despite being based in Dublin, has Pittsburgh ties. The agency is an affiliate of a larger group, Burson -Marsteller – one of the top agencies in the world – which is based in New York and has an office in Pittsburgh.
As for working for Heneghan, the cover letter is the first step to getting in the door, but it doesn’t stop there.
“The CV will get the person in front of me, but I’m going to employ a person based on do they have character? Do they know how to navigate a tough situation? Do they have street smarts, good common sense? Can they interact one to one? If they can, they can probably talk to a client,” Heneghan said.
Students had the unique opportunity to hear from Mariah Hoffman, a rising senior at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, who, at the time of the visit, was concluding her internship with Heneghan that she held since January while studying abroad.
“I wrote my cover letter like a feature story about myself,” Mariah said. “You want to stand out and be different from everyone else. Your cover letter is supposed to color you.”
She advised students to do whatever it takes to get an internship, noting that she landed her internship with Heneghan by sending out cold emails with no experience.
She stressed the importance of making the most out of all experiences, and cherishing the connections you make along the way.
“If someone asks you to go down the street to get coffee, just do it, and do it with a smile on your face,” Mariah said. “Just try to make yourself indispensable.”