Page 33 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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1 14 Crisis Communication
Johnson & Johnson could have taken yet a third path, by recalling
Tylenol on a limited scale, primarily in Chicago and the surrounding
area. That would have substantially limited the cost of the recall, which
had, of course, serious financial implications – the cost of a massive
recall, stocking and destroying a product cannot be overestimated.
Johnson & Johnson rejected that third option in order to remain true
to its corporate creed of making the safety of the consumer its top pri-
ority, whatever the cost.
It was very sensible of Johnson & Johnson to not go with a limited
recall. If Tylenol had only been recalled in Chicago and the sur-
rounding area, and remained on sale in the rest of the United States,
many more alleged complaints would have been registered. Such a
cascade of complaints often results in mass hysteria: patients are in a
state of total uncertainty and lose their trust in the product’s manufac-
turer. Such mass hysteria would have caused incalculable damage to
Johnson & Johnson.
The Tylenol case provides us with several general principles for suc-
cessful crisis communication. These are discussed below.

Successful crisis communication –

principles

Always assume the worst-case scenario

If your company is confronted with a serious crisis, base your
approach on the worst-case scenario, a scenario in which everything
that can go wrong does go wrong. Do not assume that nothing will
happen. Act on the basis of the disaster scenario.
What advantages does the development of a worst-case scenario
offer? If you act on the basis of a scenario in which everything goes
wrong, you will have taken all potential problems into account. The
public will not be able to blame you, if panic arises, because the
company is faced with unforeseen surprises. At most, they could say
that you were too cautious or overstated the importance of the case.
Furthermore, the chance that you generate respect and sympathy
among the public if you take extensive measures is greater. On the
other hand, a company that does not do enough to deal with a crisis
will be branded as insensitive, uninterested, only focused on its own
interests or cash flow, which is a situation that will cause irreparable
damage to the company image and reputation and which should,
therefore, be avoided at all costs.