EIFS
Government, Crisis, Media Relations: Brickell & Pa

Date:


HOME BUILDERS, CONSUMERS, EIFS, AND INSPECTORS: NOBODY WINS UNLESS EVERYBODY WINS!

Anyone who saw Reservoir Dogs remembers the tragi-comic climax where everyone has a pistol pointed at someone's head. One person shoots, and the chain reaction results in everyone simultaneously dying from a gunshot, a twisted form of suicide.

This scenario precisely describes the problems consumers, home builders, EIFS and inspectors faced in 1996. EIFS is a synthetic material used on the exterior of new home construction. In North Carolina, many EIFS homes were discovered to have structural water damage to the point that demolition was the only solution.

In Hampton Roads, which covers southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. the problem was brought to the attention of Tidewater Builders Association (TBA) by a reporter for a daily newspaper. The initial call came to TBA's public relations agency, Brickell & Associates in Virginia Beach.

TBA's officers and top staff asked the agency to develop an immediate program to help. The agency asked only one thing: TBA agree in advance to support the program in any way recommended.

RESEARCH --

How bad was the situation in the region? How many consumers knew? What did city inspectors think? Would factories stand behind their products? How well trained were the installers? Would media sensationalize the issue? Would anyone believe home builders?

These questions formed the core of multiple research programs conducted within the respective target groups. Without understanding the awareness of attitude toward the problem, there was no way to create a solution.

The agency used a combination of research tools. Focus groups of inspectors from different municipalities showed inconsistent certification. Focus groups of installers showed a wide range of acceptable application. Focus groups of builders revealed their unawareness of the problem. On-site home inspection showed a real problem in most EIFS homes, albeit most at a stage where it could be corrected.

Media's top staff and beat reporters were asked to help and minimize potential for public alarm while a plan was developed and implemented. In return, everyone agreed that nothing would be off-the-record when stories appeared.

Research also demonstrated some groups' leaders needed counsel on handling media in times of crisis. Their organizations also needed ground rules to follow through the course of events.

Also, research showed that nowhere else in the country was the issue being addressed in an organized, formal manner.

The research showed exactly what areas needed to be addressed, their importance and priority.

PLANNING --

Planning was the most difficult aspect as all groups had legal counsel not to give an inch. The agency used the results of the research to pull all responsible parties to a planning session. No lawyers were allowed. If all groups contributed to the plan, they would have equity in it and work harder for success. Also, without attorneys, groups were able to "humanize" the issue. The agency asked all participants to accept "the do-right rule" as the guiding and overriding factor.

Advance agreements made each group comfortable. Each would assume responsibility for educating its own members. When there was a problem in any given area, that group had to acknowledge it and offer a solution that meshed with all other's. Most of all, everyone agreed to a unified public and cross-industry voice composed of top leadership from each planning par