Primed by Archetype

Permacrisis,
A New Normal

This ”new normal” calls for enhanced resilience planning and quicker, more adaptive issues and crisis responses across audiences and channels.

The biggest risk isn’t just the crisis event itself. It’s being unprepared to lead your organisation through it.

What is
‍Primed?

In a world where headlines break faster than you can blink, being caught off guard isn’t an option. Primed is more than a crisis playbook — it’s a sharper approach that gets you ready before things go sideways, and guides you through when they do. Whether you’re facing a full-blown reputation threat or a quiet issue bubbling beneath the surface, we equip brands to act fast, communicate smart, and recover stronger. Be a Crisis Commander and lead with intent and speed when an issue gets out of control.

At the heart of Primed is the belief that crisis response isn’t just about damage control, it’s about seizing the moment to lead with empathy, clarity and intent, and never underestimating the role culture, context, and generational dynamics play in shaping response.

With Primed, a crisis becomes a turning point, not a catastrophe. You don’t just get through it. We help you lead through it.

We support our clients in the two interconnected areas of Crisis Preparedness and Crisis Response & Recovery.

Let’s face it, that tidy crisis manual sitting in the cloud waiting to be pulled out for a rare incident is not going to be a big help today when there is a major disruption - at least not on its own.

What’s critical is a resilient and regularly assessed process that supports robust cross functional coordination and rapid decision-making authority. Consider this: Does your organisation have a crisis response approach that is tuned to how your company is structured today and will it jumpstart those critical first few hours in your crisis war-room with communications, risk management and leadership?

With permacrisis, a functioning crisis preparedness and response framework must deliver agility, intelligence and preemption.

Crisis Preparedness

Being prepared is a continuum. Whatever stage of the preparedness cycle you’re in, Archetype’s experienced consultants partner with you to design a tailored approach, practical solutions that strengthen your crisis readiness, elevate your leadership response, and protect your reputation when it matters most.

The conversation on crisis management processes has shifted from managing a crisis event to building an organisation that can withstand constant crisis and emerge stronger. We can help you assess your current crisis communications processes and tune-up your crisis response kit.

Scenario diversity is critical and so is building crisis response muscle memory. We advocate for imaginative scenario planning and removing the mindset of "that could never happen". Going through a real-time simulation will give you the confidence when you most need it.

A common agreement is that companies that prepare relentlessly, respond authentically and learn continuously will be primed to lead through permacrisis. Our consultants can work with you to anticipate and prepare to respond in any eventuality. Preparation is about building continued resilience.

Crisis Response & Recovery

When a crisis hits, every move matters. Archetype helps you respond with clarity and recover with purpose. Guided by our I.D.E.A. Rapid Response model, we bring structure to complex moments and support meaningful recovery.

Insight

Data driven approach to analysing the crisis and establishing continual, fast information flows for decision-making.

Develop Content

Establish a simple, single response position and develop the reactive and proactive stakeholder communications.

Engage

Guide engagement with the PAP - People, Action, Perspective - Lens, test authenticity and humanity to achieve the best outcomes.

Assess

Constant situation assessment to diffuse the heat and explore future marketing and communications strategies for recovery opportunities.

Curious what level of readiness you’re at?

We’ve created the Primed Pulse Check: a quick, focused self-assessment designed for today’s business environment, where speed, empathy, and cross-functional coordination define successful crisis response.

In just a few minutes, you’ll assess your organisation’s readiness across three essential areas:

PROCESS

Are your crisis communication processes and playbooks actionable and aligned across functions for today, not yesterday?

PREPARE

If a crisis rears today, does your team have the tools and decision frameworks they need to jump-start, support and lead with intent?

PRACTICE

Have your leaders and teams built the essential muscle memory to respond with speed and agility under pressure?

Take the Primed Pulse Check and you’ll receive:
Your Crisis Preparedness Score, benchmarked on our Readiness Meter and a profile that reflects your current state of readiness.

Are You Primed?

Client Highlight

Successfully managing brand reputation through consumer boycotts

Amid geopolitical tensions, a major FMCG brand faced growing calls for boycott of its flagship product. We reframed the narrative through purpose-led community campaigns, sustained visibility, and values-driven messaging to diffuse religious tensions, earning positive brand visibility and ultimately preserving public trust in the brand.

Putting out the fire with a coordinated response

When a fire broke out at a major data centre, we swiftly activated crisis protocols to get ahead of customer concerns and regulatory scrutiny. Triage of media and stakeholder queries, along with active scenario planning as the incident escalated, went towards minimising the coverage cycle and supported a fast business and reputation recovery.

Reducing ripples from a market exit with empathy and open communications

Facing a market exit and product shutdown affecting a large number of employees, we led with empathetic, transparent communications to minimise backlash. From open letters and townhall scripts to tailored media strategies across multiple countries, the transition was completed smoothly with minimal negative coverage.

Defended a brand through a viral misinformation attack

A Facebook post blaming a formula milk brand for a child’s severe skin reaction gained viral following, sparking panic and a high level of consumer queries. We responded swiftly with tailored public statements, and engagement with regulators, retailers and affected families. While health authorities investigated, we activated in-store, online, and public-facing strategies to quell panic, mitigate boycott risks, and preserve trust in the brand. The product stayed on the shelves and continues to be a category leader.

Mitigating negative news around loss of customer financial data

Following the loss of backup tapes containing sensitive customer data, we advised a leading bank on a proactive disclosure strategy and stakeholder alignment. A detailed response plan involving multi-channels and front-liners was deployed to get ahead of the disclosure. The issue remained fully contained, with no media or social fallout, and customer trust was preserved.

Navigating product recalls with minimal reputation impact

We led public relations for a global mobile and electronics giant, managing high-stakes crisis comms, from product recalls to reputation repair, with strategic messaging, real-time media and social monitoring, proactive press handling, and end-to-end reporting.

Staying on track through a broken embargo

Ahead of a high-stakes European launch, we delivered a tightly controlled comms strategy for a regulated client, including embargoed briefings with top-tier media. When a journalist broke embargo and the news leaked early, we acted fast by removing the original article, tracking syndicated versions, liaising with outlets, and working with our developer team and Google to suppress coverage. We successfully contained the issue and re-launched on schedule, securing strong media pick-up.

We are here, and ready to get you primed.

Whether you’re navigating a brewing issue, thinking ahead about your organisation’s readiness, or simply curious where your gaps might be — let’s talk.

Primed is led by Mei Ling Yeow, APAC Crisis Lead and Head of Strategy and Innovation, and powered by a team of crisis and issues experts across Archetype’s network of offices globally. We’re always up for a quick conversation to help you get started, steer through uncertainty, or build a stronger, sharper crisis response.

Take the Primed Pulse Check — or reach out to us directly. We’re here to help you get crisis ready, before things go sideways.

Are you primed and prepared
for any crisis on the horizon?

A Crisis Commander or just Operationally Ready?

Permacrisis,
A New Normal

What is
‍Primed?

We support our clients in the two interconnected areas of Crisis Preparedness and Crisis Response & Recovery.

Crisis Preparedness

Crisis Response & Recovery

Curious what level of readiness you’re at?

Client Highlight

Successfully managing brand reputation through consumer boycotts

Putting out the fire with a coordinated response

Reducing ripples from a market exit with empathy and open communications

Defended a brand through a viral misinformation attack

Mitigating negative news around loss of customer financial data

Navigating product recalls with minimal reputation impact

Staying on track through a broken embargo

We are here, and ready to get you primed.

Are you primed and prepared for any crisis on the horizon?

A Crisis Commander or just Operationally Ready?

Permacrisis,A New Normal

What is ‍Primed?

We support our clients in the two interconnected areas of Crisis Preparedness and Crisis Response & Recovery.

Crisis Preparedness

Crisis Response & Recovery

Curious what level of readiness you’re at?

Client Highlight

Successfully managing brand reputation through consumer boycotts

Putting out the fire with a coordinated response

Reducing ripples from a market exit with empathy and open communications

Defended a brand through a viral misinformation attack

Mitigating negative news around loss of customer financial data

Navigating product recalls with minimal reputation impact

Staying on track through a broken embargo

We are here, and ready to get you primed.

Are you primed and prepared
for any crisis on the horizon?

Permacrisis,
A New Normal

What is
‍Primed?