Mitcham Shopping Centre fire
In the early hours of Sunday, August 22, a fire swept through the northern wing of the Mitcham Shopping Centre, completely destroying 25 shops and damaging another nine - leaving a damage bill of more than $20 million. It was one of the largest property fires ever seen in South Australia’s history.
Within minutes, news of the fire had spread and the scene was in chaos, with up to 25 fire engines battling the fire, and police, distressed traders and South Australia’s media all looking for answers. As the Managing Director of Taplin Corporation, the Centre’s owner and property manager, Andrew Taplin was the person everyone wanted to speak to.
Add to this the tight-knit Mitcham community, which was in a state of shock at the loss of its local Centre, and concerned for the future of the tenants.
Less than 48 hours later, communikate et al was appointed by Taplin Corporation to handle the communications surrounding the fire. It was communikate et al's role during the initial crisis period to assist Taplin Corporation to regain control of the situation, while protecting their reputation and assisting in protecting the livelihood of those traders directly affected.
communikate et al identified three primary stakeholder groups for communication; the traders, the local community and the media. Secondary stakeholders included the City of Mitcham, the local Members of Parliament, State Government, Police, MFS and the insurance companies.
It was crucial to maintain transparency at all times, providing ongoing communication with the traders but also implementing a proactive and targeted media campaign that ensured the right messages were being delivered to the right stakeholders via the media and other communications mediums.
Among the initiatives implemented by communikate et al were daily meetings on site to provide updates and respond to questions; a regular traders update newsletter following the immediate crisis period; development of a dedicated Mitcham Shopping Centre web page providing the broader community with access to the latest information; and a proactive publicity campaign reporting on milestones and facilitation of support from the community.
