KOC3402 Lecture Week 9 Zaliha Tylenol

8/7/2019 KOC3402 Lecture Week 9 Zaliha Tylenol

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PREPARED BY:

ZALIHA IDRIS

8 MARC 2011


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Crisis communication is something every public affairs officerwill deal with at one time or another.

Organizations that fail to communicate adequately withvarious audiences during a crisis can suffer seriousconsequences.

A crisis was defined as a significant threat to operations thatcan have negative consequences if not handled properly.

Webster's Dictionary (1990, pg. 307) defines a crises as;

An unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisivechange is impending; especially one with the distinct possibility of ahighly undesirable outcome.


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A crisis can create three related threats (Dilenschneider,

2000):

1. Public safety

2. Financial loss

3. Reputation loss

In 1982, McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of Johnson &

Johnson, was confronted with a crisis, authorities determinedthat each of the people that died, had ingested an Extra-

Strength Tylenol capsule laced with cyanide.

The news of this incident travelled quickly and was the cause

of a massive, nationwide panic. These poisonings made itnecessary for Johnson & Johnson to launch a public relations

program immediately, in order to save the integrity of both

their product and their corporation as a whole.


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Tylenol was the most successful over-the-counter productin the United States with over one hundred million users.

Tylenol accounted for 13 percent of Johnson & Johnson's

year-to-year sales growth and 33 percent of the company's

year-to-year profit growth.

Tylenol was the absolute leader in the painkiller field

accounting for a 37 percent market share, outselling the

next four leading painkillers combined, including Anacin,

Bayer, Bufferin, and Excedrin. Had Tylenol been acorporate entity unto itself, profits would have placed it in

the top half of the Fortune 500 (Berge, 1998).


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During the fall of 1982, for reasons not known, a malevolentperson or persons, presumably unknown, replaced Tylenol

Extra-Strength capsules with cyanide-laced capsules, resealed

the packages, and deposited them on the shelves of at least a

half-dozen or so pharmacies, and food stores in the Chicago

area.

The poison capsules were purchased, and seven unsuspecting

people died a horrible death.

Johnson & Johnson, parent company of McNeil ConsumerProducts Company which makes Tylenol, suddenly, and with no

warning, had to explain to the world why its trusted product

was suddenly killing people.


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The initial media reports focused on the deaths of American

citizens from a trusted consumer product.

In the beginning the product tampering was not known, thus

the media made a very negative association with the brand

name.


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When 12 year-old Mary Kellerman of Elk Grove Village, Ill.,

awoke at dawn with cold symptoms, her parents gave her oneExtra-Strength Tylenol and sent her back to bed. Little did they

know, they would wake up at 7:00 a.m. to find their daughter

dying on the bathroom floor. (Beck, 32)

That same morning, Adam Janus, 27, of Arlington Heights, Ill.,took Extra- Strength Tylenol to appease a minor chest pain. An

hour later, Janus suffered a cardiopulmonary collapse and died

suddenly.

That very evening, when relatives gathered at Janus' home,Adam's brother Stanley, 25, and his wife Theresa, 19, took

Tylenol from the same bottle that had killed their loved one.

They were both pronounced dead within the next 48 hours.

(Tifft, 18)


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Mary Reiner, 27, of the neighbouring suburb, Winfield, died

after taking two Tylenol capsules the next day. Reiner, who

was dead within hours at the local hospital, had justrecently given birth to her fourth child.

Paula Prince, 35, a United Airlines stewardess, was found

dead in her Chicago apartment with an open bottle of

Extra- Strength Tylenol nearby.

Mary McFarland, 31, of Elmhurst, Ill., was the seventh

victim of the cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. (Beck, 32)

(Tifft, 18)


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Johnson & Johnson chairman, James Burke, reacted to thenegative media coverage by forming a seven-member strategy

team.

1. "How do we protect the people?"

2. "How do we save this product?"

Told consumers not to resume using the product until the

extent of the tampering could be determined.

Stopping the production and advertising of Tylenol

Withdraw all Tylenol capsules from the store shelves in

Chicago and the surrounding area

Sympathy strategy was a big component of Johnson &

Johnson's crisis communication strategy. Sympathy strategy

wins support from the public by portraying the organization as

the unfair victim of an attack from an outside entity (Berg &

Robb, 1992).


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Robert Andrews, assistant director for public relations at

Johnson & Johnson recalls how the company reacted in the

first days of the crisis:

"We got a call from a Chicago news reporter. He told us that the

medical examiner there had just given a press conference-people

were dying from poisonedTylenol. He wanted our comment. As it was

the first knowledge we had here in this department, we told him we

knew nothing about it. In that first call we learned more from thereporter than he did from us.

Andrew's dilemma points out something that has become more

prevalent with the expansion of 24 hour electronic media.

The media will often be the first on the scene, thus haveinformation about the crisis before the organization does

(Berge, 1990).


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Johnson & Johnson also used the media, both PR and paid

advertising to communicate their strategy during the crisis.

In the first week of the crisis Johnson & Johnson established a

1-800 hot line for consumers to call.

They also establish a toll-free line for news organizations to

call and receive pre-taped daily messages with updatedstatements about the crisis (Berge, 1990).

Several major press conferences were held at corporate

headquarters. Within hours an internal video staff set up a live

television feed via satellite.

Jim Burke got more positive media exposure by going on 60

Minutes and the Donahue show and giving the public his

command messages.


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Along with the nationwide alert and the Tylenol recall,Johnson & Johnson established relations with the ChicagoPolice, the FBI, and the Food and Drug Administration.

Johnson & Johnson was given much positive coverage for theirhandling of this crisis. (Atkinson, 2) (Broom, Center, Cutlip,381)

Johnson & Johnson provided the victim's families counsellingand financial assistance even though they were not

responsible for the product tampering.

1st PHASE

Actual handling of the crisis (The initial crisis response).

The initial crisis response guidelines focus on three points:

(1) Be quick, (2) Be accurate, and (3) Be consistent. Carney and Jorden (1993) note a quick response is active and

shows an organization is in control.

Johnson & Johnson's public relations campaign was executedimmediately following the discovery that the deaths inChicago were caused by Extra- Strength Tylenol capsules.


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As the plan was constructed, Johnson & Johnson's topmanagement put customer safety first, before they worriedabout their companies profit and other financial concerns.

Table 4 provides a summary of the Initial Crisis Response BestPractices.

The initial crisis response should be delivered in the firsthour after a crisis and be vetted for accuracy.

Content refers to what is covered in the initial crisis

response.

The initial message must provide any information needed toaid public safety, provide basic information about what hashappened, and offer concern if there are victims.


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Table 4: Initial Crisis Response Best Practices

1. Be quick and try to have initial response within the first hour.

. Be accurate y carefully checkin all facts.

3. Be consistent y keepin spokespeople informed of crisis events and key

messa e points.

4. Make pu lic safety the num er one priority.

5. Use all of the availa le communication channels includin the Internet,

Intranet, and mass notification systems.

6. Provide some expression of concern/sympathy for victims

7. Remem er to include employees in the initial response.

8. Be ready to provide stress and trauma counsellin to victims of the crisis and

their families, includin employees.


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2nd PHASE

Reputation repair and behavioural intentions

The comeback of both Johnson & Johnson and Tylenol in the

public relations plan.

The planning for phase two began almost as soon as phase one

was being implemented.

Chairman of the board, James E. Burke said, in regard to the

comeback;

"It will take time, it will take money, and it will be very difficult;

but we consider it a moral imperative, as well as good business, to

restore Tylenol to it's preeminent position"(Johnson & Johnson).


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Over 2250 sales people from Johnson & Johnson domestic

affiliates were asked by Johnson & Johnson to make

presentations to people in the medical community.

Table 5 presents the Master List of Reputation Repair

Strategies.

The reputation repair strategies vary in terms of how much

they accommodate victims of this crisis.

Accommodate means that the response focuses more on

helping the victims than on addressing organizational concerns(Ulmer, Sellnow, and Seeger, 2006).


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Table 5: Master List of Reputation Repair Strategies

1.Attack the accuser: crisis manager confronts the person or group claiming something iswrong with the organization.

2.Denial: crisis manager asserts that there is no crisis.

3. Scapegoat: crisis manager blames some person or group outside of the organization for thecrisis.

4. Excuse: crisis manager minimizes organizational responsibility by denying intent to doharm and/or claiming inability to control the events that triggered the crisis.

5. Provocation: crisis was a result of response to some one elses actions.

6.Defeasibility: lack of information about events leading to the crisis situation.

7. Accidental: lack of control over events leading to the crisis situation.

8. Good intentions: organization meant to do well

9. Justification: crisis manager minimizes the perceived damage caused by the crisis.

10. Reminder: crisis managers tell stakeholders about the past good works of theorganization.

11. Ingratiation: crisis manager praises stakeholders for their actions.

12. Compensation: crisis manager offers money or other gifts to victims.

13. Apology: crisis manager indicates the organization takes full responsibility for the crisis

and asks stakeholders for forgiveness


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Johnson &Johnson ran this ad in newspapers across the

nation, on October 12, 1982


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On November 11, 1982, Johnson & Johnson communicated

their new triple safety seal packaging- a glued box, a plastic

sear over the neck of the bottle, and a foil seal over the

mouth of the bottle, with a press conference at the

manufacturer's headquarters.

Inside a tight plastic seal surrounds the cap and an inner foil

seal wraps over the mouth of the bottle. The label carries the

warning: Do not use if safety seals are broken.

Tylenol became the first product in the industry to use the

new tamper resistant packaging just 6 months after the crisis

occurred (Berge, 1990).


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On January 3, 1983, a new ad campaign was begun. Johnson

& Johnson ran a string of commercials to market Tylenol as

the brand you can trust.

Tylenols Rapid Comeback: September 17, 1983


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Nine years after the 1982

Tylenol murders, Johnson &Johnson finally settled withthe families of sevenvictims. The settlementrequired complete silencefrom all family members.

A person who would put poisonin the Tylenol capsules clearlywas a deranged person.Psychiatrists tell us that thesepeople are saying they needhelp. These kinds of peopleknow they are not well. They

don't want to be called kooks;they don't mind being calledsick. If that person cameforward and asked for help, hewould receive it, although thatdoesn't mean the person wouldnot have to deal with the hallsof justice''(James Burke, 1986).

The suits are being

defended, said George S.

Frazza, chief counsel for

Johnson & Johnson, which is

pleased with its success in

restoring consumer

confidence and is proud ofits product. He said;

"It was clear this was atampering act done at the

store shelf level, and that the

product was not at fault".


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Open & honest communication

Applied the Sympathy strategy

Pull Tylenol advertising

Continuing news conferences

Handle 2,500 media queries Reintroduction: News conference with CEO James Burke,

announce comeback plan at national sales conference

Toll-free consumer number

TV ads

2,250 sales people trained & dispatched for local medical

presentations


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"We wrote them letters and we expressed our great

sorrow and regret," Foster said.

Originally they had considered the idea of setting up

scholarships for the children affected by the deaths, butthat idea fell through.

"We couldn't be as open with them as we wanted, because

the lawyers held us back," he added. "They were trying to

protect the company."

Lawsuits against J&J hit a wall after it was determined

that the company itself had been a victim as well, Foster

noted.


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J&J turned to its corporate philosophy from 1940s, "OurCredo, cites responsibility to consumers, employees,

committees, and stockholders. Founder Robert Johnson

believed credo was both moral and profitable;

This credo was written in the mid-1940's by Robert Wood

Johnson, the company's leader for 50 years. Little did Johnson

know, he was writing an outstanding public relations plan.

Johnson saw business as having responsibilities to society that

went beyond the usual sales and profit incentives.


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The Tylenol crisis is without a doubt the most exemplary

case ever known in the history of crisis communications.

Any business executive, who has ever stumbled into apublic relations ambush, ought to appreciate the way

Johnson & Johnson responded to the Tylenol poisonings.

The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol crisis is an example of how

an organization should communicate with the variouspublics during a crisis.

Johnson & Johnson's handing of the Tylenol crisis is clearly

the example other companies should follow if they find

themselves on the brink of losing everything.

The organization's leadership set the example from the

beginning by making public safety the organizations

number one concern.


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Today Johnson & Johnson has completely recovered its

market share lost during the crisis.

The organization was able to re-establish the Tylenol brand

name as one of the most trusted over-the-counter

consumer products in American.

Organizations must operate under the assumption that a

crisis will hit the organization.

Once this realization is understood organizations can

proactively implement plans and strategies before a crises,which can help when a crises inevitably strikes the

organization (Dougherty, 1992).

KOC3402 Lecture Week 9 Zaliha Tylenol

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