A new reputation management service aims to provide ‘rapid response’ for brands hit by online crises.

The new service – called Mayday Mayday – is the result of a collaboration between Tangerine PR, its sister social media agency Juice Digital, SEO consultancy theEword and law firm Gateley LLP.

Mayday Mayday will offer a planning, monitoring and rapid response crisis and issues management service for brands worried about the risk to their online reputation.

“To be effective companies need a team with sophisticated traditional PR skills, adept at the management of online media, bloggers and social networks, up to the minute legal expertise and the ability to nullify negative effects on search engines,” said Sandy Lindsay, group MD, Tangerine PR.

Under the new collaboration, Tangerine PR – named Outstanding PR Consultancy of 2011 in the CIPR Excellence awards – will handle the ‘traditional’ media element of a crisis; Juice Digital will offer support via social media channels; and theEword will help to ensure it does not tar a company’s search and selection process.

Steve Kuncewicz, solicitor, intellectual property and media at Gateley LLP, and author of the book: ‘Legal Issues of Corporate Communication in an Online World’ said his firm will offer legal advice and suggest potential actions by the company in question.

“The law can never evolve at the same rate as technology and media,” he said. “It is therefore always playing catch up with its applicability to new channels and situations so it’s important to work with a specialist in this sector and build a relationship with a legal adviser who understands these channels.”

Mayday Mayday will offer a ‘pay as you go’ service for crisis-hit clients, as well as crisis auditing, planning, monitoring (media and online) and coaching/training.