Zombies in the Boardroom: Why Apocalypse Scenarios Make Excellent Crisis Training

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Dear reader,

In this week's edition, I'm exploring what might seem like an unconventional approach to crisis training: zombie apocalypse scenarios.

While it sounds like something from a Hollywood script, I want to show you why this isn't such a crazy idea after all. My article looks at how these scenarios create perfect conditions for testing our crisis response capabilities.

From the CDC to university campuses, serious organisations have recognised the practical benefits behind the seemingly fantastical premise.

I'm convinced these unorthodox simulations offer unique advantages for communication professionals that traditional scenarios simply can't match.

What do you think? Have you used the zombie scenario before?

Stay safe.

Table of Contents

• Before we get into the main story…

• When planning for the worst-case scenario, the und …

• Beyond the Groans and Moans

  • Black Swan Event Training:

  • Multiple System Failures:

  • Message Testing When Everything Goes to Hell:

  • Killing Normalcy Bias Dead:

• Real-World Zombie Drills (Yes, Really)

• The Professional Case for Undead Scenarios

  • Message Priority Testing:

  • Stakeholder Relationship Reality Check:

  • Department Silo Busting:

  • MacGyver-Level Creativity:

• Implementing Without Embarrassment

• Zombies in your next simulation scenario? Still a …

• Let’s meet!

Before we get into the main story…

When planning for the worst-case scenario, the undead might be your best teachers. 🧟

Picture this: You're sitting in a conference room with your crisis communications team. The facilitator walks in, distributes scenario materials, and announces with a straight face, "Today, we'll be managing communications during a zombie apocalypse."

Cue eye rolls. Professional communicators handling fictional brain-eaters? Surely this is the moment to question your career choices or at least the facilitator's professional credentials.

But before you dismiss this as another gimmicky training exercise dreamed up by someone who's binged too many seasons of "The Walking Dead" or been traumatised by the fungal apocalypse of "The Last of Us," consider that zombie scenarios have been embraced by organisations as reputable as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Beyond the Groans and Moans

Look past the shuffling hordes, and you'll find zombie scenarios have quietly infiltrated the toolkits of serious crisis planners. Why? Not just because they're fun (though they are):

Black Swan Event Training:

Zombies are the ultimate "black swan" event: wildly improbable yet catastrophic. Remind you of anything? COVID blindsided us (it shouldn’t have but did anyway). So did 9/11. And remember that massive blackout nobody saw coming? When we run zombie drills, we're really prepping for those once-in-a-lifetime crises that toss the rulebook out the window.

Multiple System Failures:

Let's face it – most crisis simulations are too tidy. A zombie outbreak, however, breaks everything at once: hospitals overflow, roads clog, supply chains collapse, governments falter, and, most relevant to us, communication channels go haywire. Try finding another scenario that stress-tests all these systems simultaneously.

Message Testing When Everything Goes to Hell:

How do you craft messaging when the public is in full-blown panic mode? What happens when half your media contacts don't answer and your CEO spokesperson just got... um... "compromised"? These aren't just zombie movie problems – they're real-world crisis nightmares.

Killing Normalcy Bias Dead:

Our biggest weakness in crisis response isn't lack of plans – it's our stubborn belief that "it can't happen here". Zombies crush that complacency instantly, forcing communicators to imagine the truly unimaginable.

Real-World Zombie Drills (Yes, Really)

If you're still unconvinced, consider these actual examples:

The CDC's "Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse" campaign¹ was one of their most successful public health communication initiatives ever. The campaign attracted significant attention to emergency preparedness messaging that might otherwise have been ignored.

The Zombie Squad² , a community service and disaster preparedness organisation founded in 2003, has built an entire non-profit around the zombie apocalypse metaphor. Their motto – "We Make Dead Things Deader" – might raise eyebrows, but their work in community education about emergency preparedness, food security, and disaster response has earned them serious credibility. Their zombie-themed approach has engaged audiences typically resistant to conventional disaster planning messages.

The University of Michigan held a zombie-themed disaster drill³ involving hundreds of participants to test campus emergency response systems. Officials noted that the unusual scenario revealed gaps in their planning that might have been overlooked in more conventional exercises.

FEMA has referenced zombies in emergency preparedness materials⁴ , acknowledging their value in engaging audiences otherwise desensitised to standard disaster planning.

The Professional Case for Undead Scenarios

Let's get specific about what zombie drills do for us communication pros:

Message Priority Testing:

Your office is surrounded, cell service is spotty, and you've got five minutes to draft a statement. What absolutely must be said? Nothing cuts through message bloat like flesh-eating monsters at the door.

Stakeholder Relationship Reality Check:

That "strategic partnership" you've been touting? Let's see how it holds up when resources vanish and everyone's scrambling for survival. Zombie scenarios reveal which relationships are merely transactional and which are truly ride-or-die.

Department Silo Busting:

Try keeping communications separate from security, operations, HR, and leadership when the world's ending. These scenarios force the cross-functional collaboration we always claim to want but rarely practise.

MacGyver-Level Creativity:

When Plan A is dead, Plan B is dead, and the crisis playbook's been eaten, you'll discover just how resourceful your team can be. Think of it as improvisational theatre, but with more screaming.

Implementing Without Embarrassment

If you're intrigued but concerned about professional credibility, consider these approaches:

• Frame it as an "Extreme Black Swan Event Exercise" with zombie elements introduced after participants are engaged

• Use the scenario for an informal after-hours team-building session before incorporating insights into formal planning

• Employ it as a "stress test" specifically designed to identify gaps in existing crisis plans

• Present it as a metaphorical exercise examining "viral" information threats

• Categorise it as training for "cordyceps-style pandemics" for the science-minded teams who've watched "The Last of Us" and prefer their apocalypse scenarios with a dash of scientific plausibility

Zombies in your next simulation scenario? Still a crazy idea?

Maybe. But I've been in this business long enough to see "that could never happen here" turn into "how did nobody see this coming?" more times than I care to count.

If your communications team can manage the zombie apocalypse, with its panic, misinformation, infrastructure collapse, and ethical nightmares, they can probably handle whatever hell breaks loose next Friday.

And honestly, isn't that why we're here? 🧟

References and further reading.

1  Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic. (2020). Cdc.gov. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/6023

2  Jaworski, K. (2011, October 31). “Zombie Hunters” Promote Disaster Preparedness and Generosity - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly. https://nonprofitquarterly.org/zombie-hunters-promote-disaster-preparedness-and-generosity/

3  Zombie Apocalypse Becomes IPE. (2017). Umich.edu. https://interprofessional.umich.edu/2017/04/25/zombie-apocalypse-becomes-ipe/#:~:text=The%20zombies%20in%20this%20drill,for%20any%20type%20of%20disaster.

4  Ready Campaign Promotes Disaster Preparedness with “Zombieland: Double Tap.” (2019, October 9). Fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20250121/ready-campaign-promotes-disaster-preparedness-zombieland-double-tap

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