Both the Mattel and Tylenol product safety issues were handled with strategic crisis management. Mattel and Johnson & Johnson went through three simultaneous crucial phases of recalling products from store shelves and destroying them, stemming the technological failure that occurred, and cleaning up the company image through various communication methods.
Johnson & Johnson recalled and destroyed 31 million Tylenol bottles from purchase distribution channels, incurring a loss of $100 million. Mattel Inc., the country’s biggest toy maker recalled in 2007 nearly 20 million toys manufactured in China because of toxic lead paint and small magnets that can be loosened.
Both companies made the recalls widely known in the form of public relations efforts through newspapers and various other media, as well as through press conferences, so as to expedite the recall process and send off the message that the companies were seriously concerned about the emergency issues and were immediately acting on it.
This gave the impression among consumers that the incident was the source of the crisis, and not the entire company. While sales for both companies drastically dropped after the recall, both Johnson & Johnson and Mattel survived the crisis. Good communication strategies, immediate action, and strategic crisis management were all able to separate the emergency incidents from the image of the entire company. Most importantly, consumer confidence came back for both Mattel and Johnson & Johnson in no time at all.
Until the unfortunate product safety crises that both Johnson & Johnson and Mattel suffered, these brands were enjoying consumers brand loyalty. Their reputation of being generally reliable brands won over the temporary product image debacle. That is why consumer confidence came back after the product safety crises.
Over the long haul, however, consumer confidence in a brand goes beyond a brand promise that has been delivered. In the end, both Mattel and Johnson & Johnson are really all about basic ideals. In the minds of consumers, they have already been known as dependable brands because they have put consumer satisfaction in high priority. In the end, for both cases, product safety lapses were overshadowed by overall superior business relationship manifested through excellent crisis management. The brand promise of customer relationship is the biggest promise delivered.
Via Forbes
