Johnson and Johnson had to deal with a major corporate crisis. I think they handled the crisis successfully. The J&J corporation was faced with a problem with one of the most popular products, Tylynol. People were reported dead from the drug. Although JNJ didn’t put the deathly additives in the Tylynol, the company still got a black eye from all the bad press.
The crisis happened in October of 1982, when several people form Chicago were reported dead. The death was linked with Tylynol. What a terrible incident! People died from a drug that JNJ sold! The drug was tampered with.
Johnson and Johnson had to figure out the best way to deal with the situation. They needed to maintain the company's reputation. They needed to come off concerned. Even though the product was not tampered with by JNJ, they took responsibility by ensuring public safety first and recalled all of their capsules from the market. I think this was the best way to handle the situation. As we learned in class, the consumer/ person it affected comes first. It is a duty of a company to protect people first and property later.
New media made this crisis especially difficult. The public relations practitioner of JNJ, Robert Andrews, heard word of the scandal from news reporters first. He recalls, "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 poisoned Tylenol. 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 the reporter than he did from us." It is so important especially with the new media bringing instant communication to be prepared. Andrews needs to have a statement ready in case of a crisis.
The next step Johnson and Johnson took was to create a seven member strategy team focusing on specific points: protecting the people first and then saving the product second.
The University of Oklahoma did a case study on the Tylenol Crisis. The case study says, "The company's first actions were to immediately alert consumers across the nation, via the media, not to consume any type of Tylenol product. They told consumers not to resume using the product until the extent of the tampering could be determined." JNJ also stopped advertising and production of Tylenol. They took all the products off the shelves in Chicago and the surrounding area.
The word got out. There were press conferences, an internal video of the press conferences to be circulated around the world, and a 60 Minutes segment about the Tylenol scandal.
The new ideas that came up from this incident changed packaging forever. JNJ created a new foiled safety seal on the bottles. This was communicated in the press conference. This was a great way to handle the situation to show that JNJ cares because they want to fix their product to help the situation. "Tylenol became the first product in the industry to use the new tamper resistant packaging just 6 months after the crisis occurred," says the case study.
New media made this crisis especially difficult. The public relations practitioner of JNJ, Robert Andrews, heard word of the scandal from news reporters first. He recalls, "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 poisoned Tylenol. 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 the reporter than he did from us." It is so important especially with the new media bringing instant communication to be prepared. Andrews needs to have a statement ready in case of a crisis.
The next step Johnson and Johnson took was to create a seven member strategy team focusing on specific points: protecting the people first and then saving the product second.
The University of Oklahoma did a case study on the Tylenol Crisis. The case study says, "The company's first actions were to immediately alert consumers across the nation, via the media, not to consume any type of Tylenol product. They told consumers not to resume using the product until the extent of the tampering could be determined." JNJ also stopped advertising and production of Tylenol. They took all the products off the shelves in Chicago and the surrounding area.
The word got out. There were press conferences, an internal video of the press conferences to be circulated around the world, and a 60 Minutes segment about the Tylenol scandal.
The new ideas that came up from this incident changed packaging forever. JNJ created a new foiled safety seal on the bottles. This was communicated in the press conference. This was a great way to handle the situation to show that JNJ cares because they want to fix their product to help the situation. "Tylenol became the first product in the industry to use the new tamper resistant packaging just 6 months after the crisis occurred," says the case study.
Johnson and Johnson did a great job in taking care of this situation. I still purchase JNJ products. I take Tylenol quite frequently. JNJ 's company's reputation is still appreciated. Media coverage for the scandal was huge. If the PR people didn't take charge with a well organized and detailed crisis plan, then JNJ would appear careless.
The case study commends the way Johnson and Johnson handled the crisis. They say, "Scholars have come to recognize Johnson & Johnson's handling of the Tylenol crisis as the example for success when confronted with a threat to an organization's existence." Another critic says, ""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 a public relations ambush, ought to appreciate the way Johnson & Johnson responded to the Tylenol poisonings. They have effectively demonstrated how major business has to handle a disaster." I agree with these statements. After reading about the scandal, I am more informed on the events and people involved. I think JNJ should win a prize for their efforts.
The case study commends the way Johnson and Johnson handled the crisis. They say, "Scholars have come to recognize Johnson & Johnson's handling of the Tylenol crisis as the example for success when confronted with a threat to an organization's existence." Another critic says, ""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 a public relations ambush, ought to appreciate the way Johnson & Johnson responded to the Tylenol poisonings. They have effectively demonstrated how major business has to handle a disaster." I agree with these statements. After reading about the scandal, I am more informed on the events and people involved. I think JNJ should win a prize for their efforts.
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