Field Notes 4: How crisis approaches vary and what comms leads should do when it hits the fan
Comms crises seem to be a bit like buses this year.
In the space of just a few weeks, we've seen hackers taking control of supermarket fridges, the world's biggest crypto exchange suffering one of history's largest thefts and Jensen Huang, the boss of Nvidia, finding himself apologising to staff following an affair.
They’re three very different crises, and each was handled in its own way. Those that came through the other side, if not unscathed, had a few things in common: they'd prepared long before the phones started ringing off the hook, moved fast and knew their audiences inside out.
We take a closer look at the responses to these crises and share a few Field Notes tips for handling a crisis situation.
The cold hack: Danfoss and overheating fridges
In October, hackers got into the temperature controllers of supermarket fridges and freezers across France, forcing them into a continuous defrost cycle. Temperatures hit 50°C, food worth millions was binned and some units even caught fire. Three weeks later, a second wave hit more than 100 shops in seven more European countries. France has since blamed Iran for the attacks on its stores.
The kit most impacted by the hack was made by Danish manufacturer Danfoss. Its response was succinct and technical: the incidents affected a "limited number" of its systems and most were legacy products no longer supported or running outdated firmware. Customers had previously been advised to upgrade, it said.
It might well be true, but the responses felt impersonal and sounded like a warranty booklet or terms and conditions.
The crypto meltdown: Binance and the $6bn grab
On 29 October, hackers linked by the FBI to North Korea stole around $6.3 billion from Binance's wallets in roughly 20 minutes. Blockchain analysts suggested it could be the biggest heist in history. A problem, then, for Binance, which, as BBC Radio 4's When It Hits the Fan pointed out, is a business that trades on being the world's most trusted crypto exchange. The hack threatened not just that reputation, but trust in crypto as a whole.
Binance's response was fast, loud and very 'crypto' in tone. It put a pause on withdrawals and, in just a few hours, contained the breach and promised to cover any customer losses from its own funds.
With its leadership split between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, co-CEOs Richard Teng and Yi He headed straight for X, where the crypto community gathers, with coordinated "funds are SAFU" posts. The phrase began in 2018 as a meme, after then-CEO Changpeng Zhao told users their funds were safe during unplanned maintenance. Binance later adopted it as the name of its emergency insurance reserve, the Secure Asset Fund for Users. Deftly wheeling out a community in-joke mid-crisis, and then drawing on the fund itself, showed Binance knew exactly who it needed to be talking to. Teng followed with a short video aimed squarely at users.
Daily updates followed, pitched at and tailored to every type of audience: quick reassurances for skim-readers, video for the wider community and deep-dive technical explainers for crypto insiders. Although customers pulled billions when withdrawals reopened, the fast and bold response helped to stem the tide: the vast majority of assets stayed put and the panic was contained.
Jensen Huang's public apology
Since late October, reports had linked Nvidia's chief executive to Alice Huang (no relation). Nvidia's first line was that their interactions were "not unusual". The position didn't last long. On Sunday 8 November, Huang emailed staff admitting he'd been unfaithful to his wife and apologised. The board then announced an independent investigation into the national security questions, saying it had no reason to believe secrets had been compromised. A spokesperson added that Huang would keep leading the company "without interruption". Shares fell 4.3% the next day, wiping around $193 billion off Nvidia's value.
At the time of writing (12 November), the situation is ongoing; however, the initial personal apology drew lukewarm praise from the comms industry.
How they handled it
Each company drew on a very different crisis playbook. Here's how they stack up against each other.
| Category | Danfoss | Binance | Nvidia |
|---|---|---|---|
| The crisis | Hackers overheat supermarket fridges via controllers: around 700 French stores impacted, then a second wave in seven countries | Around $6.3bn stolen in about 20 minutes, likely the biggest theft in history, weakening trust in Binance and in crypto itself | CEO's affair with Alice Huang |
| First response | Same day: a short statement confirming a "limited number" of systems affected | Bosses straight out of the traps: within about four hours the hack was contained, withdrawals paused and all losses guaranteed | Contacts described as "not unusual" initially; full admission came once romance reports surfaced |
| Core message | Impersonal: mostly legacy kit or outdated firmware; customers had been told to upgrade | Community-centric: "Funds are SAFU": every loss will be covered from company funds, user assets are safe, here's what happens next | Empathetic: personal apology, independent board investigation, remained in role |
| Audience focus | Engineers and installers in the main; not much focus on retailers counting losses or shoppers facing empty freezers | Customers first, then crypto experts and mainstream media, each addressed in its own language | Staff and family first, then the board, partners and shareholders. National security questions left to the board |
| Who fronted it | Unnamed spokesperson | The top team: co-CEOs Richard Teng and Yi He, with founder CZ | Huang himself, then the board |
| Social media | Kept quiet; retailers did most of the talking on socials | Straight onto X, where the crypto crowd gathers: coordinated "SAFU" posts, then Teng's calm, direct-to-user video | No social mentions. The staff email, posted publicly, did the heavy lifting |
| Website and owned channels | Little info on its own site. Guidance via trade press, customers and mostly French media. | Layered for every reader: easy-to-skim updates and FAQs, then a technical postmortem for the experts | Huang's email and a board statement on its newsroom |
| What worked | Practical fixes for affected customers | Speed, clarity and messages built for each audience | A genuine apology |
| What didn't | Read as detached and without taking accountability | Couldn't stop customer withdrawals. "SAFU" crypto jargon means little to industry outsiders. | The "not unusual" and "without interruption" messaging |
| Our verdict | Miss | Hit: panic contained, if not the withdrawals | Ongoing |
Move fast and know your audience
Preparation is the stock answer in every crisis comms guide. All three companies had prepared to some degree, and Nvidia (arguably) most of all. Reports suggest Huang had been working with a crisis firm since at least October 2025, while its comms teams have doubled in size since 2023, to around 70 people.
Danfoss, too, had released fixes and warned customers about unsupported kit long before. What really separated the three was how fast they moved in response to the crises and how effectively they spoke to their audiences.
On speed, the When It Hits the Fan podcast made a simple point: in a crisis, time is enemy number one. Binance's bosses got out of the traps immediately, and by the time their coordinated posts landed, the hack had been stopped and the money to cover losses was ring-fenced.
Binance spoke most effectively to its community in its own language. The "funds are SAFU" phrase shows how important the right message can be when it's aimed at the right crowd at the right time.
To outsiders it may read like jargon, but to the crypto community, it's instantly familiar shorthand. It told users in three words that the reserve existed for exactly this moment. Binance then layered on reassuring video content for anxious users and technical deep dives for experts.
Danfoss' messaging was more legalistic in tone, with little empathy. In contrast, Nvidia's apology was pitched well at staff and family, but investors and Washington wanted to know what was being checked and what would change.
Five top tips: why preparedness is paramount
Whether your crisis is a connected IoT hack or a personnel issue, a crisis can arrive from any angle. Preparation is the place to start, but it only pays off if it makes you faster and sharper about who you're talking to. Here's our five top tips for getting ahead.
1. Map your risks, even the most toe-curlingly awkward ones
Most risk registers and scenario plans cover cyber and operations, but few really consider the supply chain as a whole, and even fewer delve into the chief executive's private life. Sit down with leadership and work through the scenarios, warts and all.
2. Decide now what you can promise later
Binance's most powerful line, that customers wouldn't bear the loss, was only possible because the money was already there. Work out in advance what you can commit to (refunds, service guarantees, a named point of contact), who needs to sign it off and which spokesperson will front it. Based on your scenario planning, draft holding statements so the first can go out in a matter of minutes.
3. Get out there quickly and take responsibility
In a crisis, time is your biggest enemy. Binance had its bosses on X within hours. You won't have every answer in the first hour and you don't need to. Say what you know, what you're doing and when people will next hear from you, then stick to that promise and keep people updated.
4. Know who you're talking to and where they are
Map your audiences, what drives them and where they gather, whether that's X, the trade press or an internal Slack channel, and make sure to speak their language. As with Binance, layer your message: a headline for the time-poor, more detailed deep dives for staff and technical briefings for industry insiders.
5. Set a protocol and rehearse the process
Comms protocols that set out lines to take, escalation routes and sign-off processes can buy critical time if they're agreed in advance. However, a plan in a drawer isn't worth the paper it's written on. Ideally, you should periodically run crisis simulations with the chief executive in the room and include the personal and reputational scenarios alongside the technical ones.
You can't control every eventuality when the proverbial hits the fan, but you can prepare in advance to buy yourself that ever-precious time when it does.
Fieldcraft's approach
Fieldcraft helps organisations across life sciences, deep tech, energy, infrastructure and public affairs prepare for the moments that matter, whether that's risk mapping and holding statements, media training or live crisis support.
