Navigating the silicon valley bank collapse

Overview

On March 10, 2023, regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) following a bank run driven by fear of the bank’s insolvency. The collapse of SVB sent shockwaves through the tech industry, as SVB was a major lender to startups and venture capital firms.

Challenge

The rapid collapse of SVB impacted several PANBlast clients. Many of these companies looked to PANBlast for urgent assistance on what to tell employees, customers and other stakeholders.

Strategy

As news began to swirl about SVB’s close, PANBlast proactively reached out to clients to see who was impacted, offering guidance on messaging to customers, board members and employees about the financial exposure. With the sudden nature of the SVB collapse, communicating stability and strength to employees and customers was paramount. BLAST worked with the comms/marketing teams of impacted customers to create custom plans. 

The SVB news consumed tech media. Some clients were open to discussing the collapse and sharing their perspectives. BLAST collaborated with clients on how to best leverage this commentary in the SVB aftermath. In addition to working with clients that had external positions on the matter, BLAST also monitored media opportunities via Help A Report Out (HARO) and Qwoted, flagging any relevant media requests and helping clients respond to inquiries.

As a PR agency dedicated to B2B SaaS companies, PANBlast monitored the news for clients and noted communication’s role in SVB’s downfall. Many industry experts felt that the bank’s demise was partly due to a communication collapse from SVB’s ill-timed, jargon-laden press release about its strategy, increasing the already panic many saw across social media. With this in mind, PANBlast published a blog from Executive Vice President Kim Jefferson entitled, “What the SVB Collapse Taught Us About Communication in a Crisis,” outlining critical components of a crisis communication strategy.