MWW Group and Paratus Launch C3Ready(SM) Services Suite

MWW Group, one of the nation's top ten public relations firms, today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Paratus, an end-to-end government/business continuity and crisis management consultancy founded by Timothy W. Patterson, a former Naval officer who completed his military service with the White House Military Office, serving with the President's Emergency Operations Center. Together MWW Group and Paratus have launched C3Ready(SM), a suite of multi-disciplinary services designed to integrate organizations' operational and communications responses to anticipated and unforeseen crisis situations. These integrated services will help to minimize operational downtime, mitigate revenue and branding losses, improve leadership continuity and as a result, strengthen the ability to effectively manage all crisis incidents and the requisite communications with internal and external audiences.

C3Ready focuses on the three critical elements of crisis management -- Continuity, Crisis Response and Communications. It approaches crisis management with a proactive enterprise-wide perspective, addressing the full breadth of business operations and communications imperatives, with services ranging from incident response analysis, crisis plan development and scenario-based training, to command center architecture, technology implementation and infrastructure stress testing.

"Far too many organizations impede their business continuity and incident response measures when they task offices, employees and disconnected executives with critically-interdependent operational and communication responsibilities without the proper planning and capabilities," said Timothy W. Patterson, founder and president of Paratus. "We frequently see business operations crisis response directed by the COO or a command center, while the external communications response is directed by the public relations or marketing team with minimal coordination between the two. During an event, it is too late to break down those internal barriers, integrate response activities and deliver crisis communications when every second counts. Today's business environment clearly demonstrates that internal and external crises directly affect an organization's revenue, reputation, business prospects, and, at times, their very existence hangs in the balance."

"Organizations of every shape and size -- whether public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, B2B, B2C, digital or brick-and-mortar -- share a common vulnerability: the impact of time when crises strike," said Michael Kempner, MWW Group president and chief executive officer. "Operational disruption can lead to lost sales, lost leadership and declining confidence among key stakeholders. Likewise, delayed or ineffective communications in a crisis can cause you to lose control of your story, allowing others to run roughshod over your reputation."

"Effectively managing a crisis requires more than simple planning and practice within each department," continued Kempner. "It requires a holistic strategy for your organization, encompassing both the operational and communications perspectives. a re-evaluation and reorganization of critical resources to be leveraged in a crisis and a methodology that not only keeps the lights on and the Website up, but also efficiently manages the process of communicating your status and steps to recovery to internal and external audiences."

MWW Group and Paratus each bring a wealth of crisis management tools and knowledge to the C3Ready offering. Counselors at MWW Group possess a substantial range and depth of crisis communications expertise -- from contingency planning, crisis response training and on-site support for clients in the midst of incidents, to managing the aftermath of crises and the restoration of trust and reputations. Additionally, the agency is a leader in digital crisis communications, including the creation and management of digital and social media tools to be leveraged when crises strike, as well as monitoring the online landscape during incidents and managing connections with critical constituencies through online channels.

On the operations front, Paratus supports the public and private sectors with consultants possessing extensive operational and planning experience at the highest levels of continuity of operations, continuity of government, business continuity and emergency preparedness programs. Many of Paratus' consultants maintain security clearances which enable them to support companies and government agencies that work in highly sensitive arenas. The Paratus team regularly supports government organizations and large private industry corporations in the development and enhancement of their continuity and crisis programs and capabilities. Paratus integrates their strategic, technical and operational expertise with their deep industry relationships to leverage proven methodologies in order to provide client's viable solutions that enhance their resilience and ability to continue essential services and operations.

Specific C3Ready services include:

• Crisis Response / Continuity Planning and Analysis - Establish or enhance integrated policies, plans and procedures across a palate of needs -- Business Continuity, Continuity of Government or operations, internal and external communications, first responder integration, regulatory compliance, evacuation, leadership succession and the digital deployment of response plans.
• Communications Infrastructure Analysis and Testing - Current crisis communication infrastructure capabilities analysis, recurrent stress testing and reporting on operational status of crisis communications resources including command center data streams, primary and redundant digital resources, mobile and satellite communications, on-site video capabilities, crisis team notification tools and in-bound call systems.
• Command Center / Emergency Operations Center Architecture - Planning, development and testing of crisis management centers including physical layout, information management and technology resource optimization, operating procedures and staffing protocols.
• Incident Response Training and Exercise Support - Planning, execution and analysis of crisis response and continuity related training sessions including online and tabletop training exercises, full-dress mock crisis drills, small-group exercises tailored for executive teams and spokesperson training under simulated crisis conditions.
• Tailored 'Best Practice' Audits - Primary and Secondary research and analysis of crisis response and continuity efforts among an organization's peer group and across related sectors to determine and present operational and communications 'Best Practices' and recommended refinements to current plans and capabilities.

About MWW Group

MWW Group is one of the nation's top ten public relations agencies and is known for its results-driven approach to public relations and "Aim High... and Deliver" commitment to client service. For the past four years, MWW Group has been honored with the #1 ranking in the Holmes Report agency client satisfaction survey. MWW Group achieved top rankings in the categories of account leadership, strength of account team, creativity, strategy and planning, and program execution. In 2006, MWW Group was named PR Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and Mid-size PR Firm of the Year by PR News, in recognition of the firm's growth, strategic account leadership and industry-leading employee retention. MWW Group is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG).

About Paratus

Paratus is the Latin word for "Prepared." Paratus is an end-to-end government/business continuity and crisis management firm that provides highly qualified consultants that mitigate risk and provide viable solutions for threat or hazard events affecting normal business operations. Paratus' consultants are certified and have extensive operational, planning and program management experience at the highest levels in both the government and private sectors. Individually and collectively the experience, education, knowledge and technical "know how" allows Paratus to provide top tier continuity and crisis management consulting services across all levels of government and the business world. For more information, visit www.paratus-prepared.com.