I. Background Information
JHONSON AND JHONSON: TYLENOL
The image and reputation of a company is so important in order to gain the trust of the consumers. Crisis need not strike a company purely as a result of its own negligence or misadventure. Often, a situation is created which cannot be blamed on the company - but the company finds out pretty quickly that it takes a huge amount of blame if it fumbles the ball in its response. On September 30, 1892, Jhonson and Jhonson announced that three persons had died as a result of taking Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide. Within the next two days, four additional deaths from the same cause were reported. All seven deaths occurred in the Chicago Area, but J & J recalled thirty-one million bottles of Tylenol from store shelves throughout the nation. The publicity surrounding this was unprecedented in American business history; in the print media alone, more than 125,000 stories appeared. Many business analysts said that no product could survive this, and they pronounced Tylenol dead as a product line. From the outset of crisis, J & J recognized the immediate and long-term stakes involved. Its strategy was based on maintaining high visibility and avoiding any appearance that the corporation was trying to duck responsibility.
The incident involved four specific “publics” – the management at Johnson & Johnson, its employees, the consumers and the stores which were selling Tylenol. By communicating with the management and employees (internal publics), the company reinforced the mission statement and its dedication to serving the consumers as well as possible even when it was not an internal problem. This served to make these people willing partners in finding a solution as well as handling the recalls. Such communication brings the people involved “into the fold”, into a cohesive team. It