Brand Failures
Brand Failures Brand Failures
128 Brand failures limited only by how fast people can type.’ In other words, if people want to get their point across there is little companies can do to stop them. Understand that financial muscle isn’t as strong as it used to be. Following on from the previous point, the power of the Internet means that financial resources are no longer enough to suppress criticism. ‘One of the major strengths of pressure groups,’ says Peter Verhille, of the PR firm Entente International, ‘is their ability to exploit the instruments of the telecommunication revolution. The agile use of global tools such as the Internet reduces the advantage that corporate budgets once provided.’ Concentrate on public perception. In trying to set an example against the Greenpeace activists, McDonald’s helped to highlight the activists’ cause.
PR failures 129 42 Perrier’s benzene contamination No matter how careful a company is, bad things can happen to its brands. The part that is within the company’s control is how it decides to handle crises when they occur. The company most respected for its crisis management capabilities is Johnson & Johnson. When a problem emerges with a Johnson & Johnson brand, the company addresses it immediately, and never tries to cover it up. For instance, when the company learned that its Tylenol brand of painkillers had been tampered with in a US supermarket, the company acted straightaway. It ordered that the Tylenol product be taken off the shelves of every outlet in which it was sold, rather than just the specific supermarket where it had been tampered with. Once the recall was in effect, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would not put Tylenol painkillers back on the market until the product was more securely protected. This meant making sure Tylenol had tamper-proof packaging, and so the company designed individually packaged pills in foil bubbles. Of course, both the recall and the repackaging cost Johnson & Johnson a lot of money, but this short-term loss was more than compensated by the fact that Tylenol’s brand was preserved in the long term. Some experts have argued that the Tylenol brand eventually benefited from the crisis, because consumers were so satisfied and reassured by the company’s response. Not all brand crises are handled so effectively. In 1990 high levels of the toxic substance benzene were discovered in bottles of Perrier. The company
- Page 85 and 86: Extension failures 77 21 Harley Dav
- Page 87 and 88: Extension failures 79 making up the
- Page 89 and 90: Extension failures 81 Keep it tigh
- Page 91 and 92: 23 Crest Stretching a brand to its
- Page 93 and 94: Extension failures 85 ‘No toothpa
- Page 95 and 96: Extension failures 87 24 Heinz All
- Page 97 and 98: Extension failures 89 Lessons from
- Page 99 and 100: Extension failures 91 the no-nonsen
- Page 101 and 102: Extension failures 93 Have a core
- Page 103 and 104: Extension failures 95 In the mid-19
- Page 105 and 106: Extension failures 97 every brand -
- Page 107 and 108: Extension failures 99 sales rose to
- Page 109 and 110: Extension failures 101 However, amo
- Page 111 and 112: Extension failures 103 29 Chiquita
- Page 113 and 114: Extension failures 105 A brand is
- Page 115 and 116: 31 Ben-Gay Aspirin Ben-Gay is anoth
- Page 117 and 118: 33 Smith and Wesson mountain bikes
- Page 119 and 120: 35 Lynx barbershop Lever Fabergé,
- Page 121 and 122: 37 LifeSavers Soda Invented in 1912
- Page 123: 39 Frito-Lay Lemonade Frito-Lay is
- Page 127 and 128: It can be expected that brands will
- Page 129 and 130: PR failures 121 40 Exxon Don’t sa
- Page 131 and 132: PR failures 123 including the clean
- Page 133 and 134: PR failures 125 environmentalists,
- Page 135: PR failures 127 the public. [. . .]
- Page 139 and 140: PR failures 131 common purpose thro
- Page 141 and 142: PR failures 133 Lesson from Pan Am
- Page 143 and 144: PR failures 135 In addition, Snow B
- Page 145 and 146: PR failures 137 45 Rely tampons Pro
- Page 147 and 148: PR failures 139 Lessons from Rely
- Page 149 and 150: PR failures 141 As Gerber saw it, a
- Page 151 and 152: PR failures 143 regarding youth mar
- Page 153 and 154: PR failures 145 buying about 40 per
- Page 155 and 156: PR failures 147 Be sensitive. By s
- Page 157: PR failures 149 Remember that comp
- Page 161: Brands operate on a global scale. B
- Page 164 and 165: 156 Brand failures of the Bombay St
- Page 166 and 167: 158 Brand failures Coca-Cola. The
- Page 168 and 169: 160 Brand failures Lessons from Kel
- Page 170 and 171: 162 Brand failures Translation trou
- Page 172 and 173: 53 Schweppes Tonic Water in Italy I
- Page 174 and 175: 55 Electrolux in the United States
- Page 176 and 177: 57 Coors in Spain Coors beer had eq
- Page 178 and 179: 59 Clairol’s Mist Stick in German
- Page 180 and 181: 61 American Airlines in Mexico When
- Page 182 and 183: 63 Kentucky Fried Chicken in Hong K
- Page 184 and 185: 176 Brand failures ment. Pretty soo
PR failures 129<br />
42 Perrier’s benzene<br />
contamination<br />
No matter how careful a company is, bad things can happen to its brands.<br />
The part that is within the company’s control is how it decides to handle crises<br />
when they occur.<br />
The company most respected for its crisis management capabilities is<br />
Johnson & Johnson. When a problem emerges with a Johnson & Johnson<br />
brand, the company addresses it immediately, and never tries to cover it up.<br />
For instance, when the company learned that its Tylenol brand of painkillers<br />
had been tampered with in a US supermarket, the company acted straightaway.<br />
It ordered that the Tylenol product be taken off the shelves of every<br />
outlet in which it was sold, rather than just the specific supermarket where<br />
it had been tampered with.<br />
Once the recall was in effect, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would<br />
not put Tylenol painkillers back on the market until the product was more<br />
securely protected. This meant making sure Tylenol had tamper-proof<br />
packaging, and so the company designed individually packaged pills in foil<br />
bubbles. Of course, both the recall and the repackaging cost Johnson &<br />
Johnson a lot of money, but this short-term loss was more than compensated<br />
by the fact that Tylenol’s brand was preserved in the long term. Some experts<br />
have argued that the Tylenol brand eventually benefited from the crisis,<br />
because consumers were so satisfied and reassured by the company’s response.<br />
Not all brand crises are handled so effectively. In 1990 high levels of the<br />
toxic substance benzene were discovered in bottles of Perrier. The company
Change language