2. Building Brand Resilience
Emerging factors leading to greater frequency of
Issues
• Rise of the Consumer Groups and their ability to investigate and publicize the
operations and policies of the organization
• The age of instant communication, facilitated by the electronic media – info
can be disseminated throughout the world in a short span of time
• Technological advancements – Issues related to transportation systems ,
aircraft disasters and human errors
• Issues related to environmental concerns and in the wake of natural disasters
• Change in the economic environment - loss of employment , industrial
collapse etc .
All adverse situations have a potential to inflict damage on an organization,
However, some can be contained, where as others have the potential to cause
tremendous damage , such as product tampering and environmental pollution
3. Building Brand Resilience
An Organizational Crisis Matrix
Controllable
Wide Impact
Local Impact
Not controllable
Product Sabotage
Takeover and
corporate raids
Product Defects
Customer Accidents
Poor Trading Results
Environmental
pollution
Merger
Employee Accident
Industrial Action
Systems breakdown
Terrorism and
executive kidnapping
Natural Disasters
Application of the contingency
based tactics by all those
concerned with the event that
will determine the strength of the
outcome
5. Coca-Cola Corporate Campaign
The Problem
• Coca-Cola in India was suffering from major image issue mainly on two fronts:
– Product safety (pesticide issue)
– Corporate Image:
• Unconcerned about the environment (water guzzler)
• MNC in India: Just to make profits: not very open/transparent
• With the above baggage Coca-Cola had a very ‘defensive’ approach towards
media and was seen to be only reactive
– Issues like plant visit (though highly publicised after pesticide issue) was more of
an eye-wash
– Company was pushing its CSR activities in the media more for ‘green-washing’
• The Company had a serious trust issue with media who play a great role in
forming a negative mindset about them amongst the public
6. Coca-Cola Corporate Campaign
The Campaign Objective
• Position Coca-Cola in India as
– An innovative and market leader in its category
– A responsible & transparent corporate entity
• The key challenge
– Media's negative approach towards the cola category given the issues of health
factor, pesticide and also the ever-increasing number of foreign particles in colas,
spurious bottles etc.
– Coca-Cola's resistance to giving information to media
7. Coca-Cola Corporate Campaign
Our Communication Approach
• 3 E Approach: Initiate a high-decibel structured ‘corporate’ campaign involving all
stakeholders (media, consumers, NGOs etc.) and showcase company progress in India.
– Educate: using mass-media
– Engage: through participation in events and involving customers through activation
programs
– Endorse: from stakeholders (NGOs, Govt bodies, etc.)
• Mass Media
– A new corporate campaign showcasing the company's transformation into a more
open, transparent and communicative company
– Bridge Building with the media: through FAM trips and select one on ones
• CSR Activities: Broad based yet controlled coverage
– Instead of ‘pushing’ coverage for each and every CSR activity through media, gain
mindshare through word-of-mouth and stakeholder engagement
– Partner with credible associations and initiate new activities
• Industry Thought leadership:
– Participation in Industry events as speakers, case-study presenter: Marketing, CSR,
HRD, etc
– Participation in Industry articles: CSR, Marketing, HR, Advertising, Trends, etc
9. Coca-Cola Corporate Campaign
Activities undertaken
Step 1:
• CSR: Coca-Cola partnered with bodies like CII, FICCI, UN Habitat, ICRISAT,
Rotary, FORCE (NGO) and various state Governments to initiate and
participate in CSR activities
• Corporate (including marketing): Company ‘opened’ up with the media and
participated in Industry stories and also some exclusives with the key
spokespersons
Step 2:
• Coca-Cola initiated a mass media ‘corporate’ campaign “Little Drops of Joy”:
new logo, new colours, new manifesto
• Coca-Cola started participating in national awards and events, seminars etc.
Step 3:
• Coca-Cola opened its plant and invited national media for a FAM Trip to Coca-
Cola plants under a new program: My Trip of Joy
• These FAM trips used to showcase the CSR activities of Coca-Cola: Community
activities in and around the plant area etc.
10. Coca-Cola Corporate Campaign
PR Tactics
• Identified key message blocks for the Spokespersons to be embedded in the
media
• Focus on 5Ps – Idea was to share larger concept behind this initiative (profit –
changed to performance)
– LDJ as the underlying aspect of the company’s strategy
• Media training for key spokespersons: Preparing them for the media
• Press Conference to announce the company’s initiatives under the 5Ps
– ‘Little Drops of Joy’ unveiled at the conference
– Invited media from across India to achieve national footprint for this
announcement
• Press Release
– Localization of the press note for each region by translating it for
vernacular media- making the news relevant and easily accessible to
media pan India
11. Coca-Cola Corporate Campaign
The Results
Market leadership
• Sparkling beverage
category: Thums Up and
Coke
• Lemon drink category:
Limca
• Fruit juice drink based
category: Mazaa and
Minute Maid
Ranked 24 out of 300 in prestigious Business
World –IMRB “India’s Most RESPECTED
Companies 2007” survey
• 19th for Innovativeness
• 28th for Ethics and transparency
• 29: Quality of products & services
• 22: People practices & Talent management
CIRRUS Corporate Image Monitor
reported Coca-Cola’s coverage as 42%
higher than nearest competition Pepsi
13. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Background
• On October 2003, just a month before Diwali, the Food and Drug Administration
Commissioner received complaints about infestation in two bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk,
Cadbury India’s flagship brand with over 70% market share. Over the following 3-week
period, resultant adverse media coverage touched close to 1000 clips in print and 120
on TV news channels, bringing the company’s reputation and credibility was under
intense scrutiny.
• Sales volumes came down drastically in the first 10 weeks, which was the festival
season; The heat of negative publicity melted Cadbury’s sales by 30 per cent, at a time
when it sees a festive spike of 15 per cent.
• Retailer stocking and display dropped, employee morale – especially that of the sales
team – was shaken. For the first time, Cadbury’s advertising went off air for a month
and a half after Diwali, following the controversy. Consumers seemed to ignore their
chocolate cravings.
14. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Challenge
• The incident came close on the heels of a cola controversy where a scientific laboratory
declared colas unsafe due to high levels of pesticide. The jury was still out on that issue
and so this incident acquired political overtones with parties decrying Cadbury as an
irresponsible MNC. Andrea Dawson- Shepherd, Global Corporate Communication
Counsel, Cadbury Schweppes called it ‘the worst worm infestation-related crisis
anywhere in the world’.
• The challenge was to restore confidence in the key stakeholders (consumers, trade and
employees, particularly the sales team) and build back credibility for the corporate
brand through the same channels (the media) that had questioned it.
• The immediate objective was to get the following key messages across:
– Infestation could never occur at the manufacturing stage
– The problem was storage linked; this without alienating trade channels
– Cadbury Dairy Milk continued to be safe for consumption
15. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Strategy
Phase 1: Presenting Cadbury’s view (October-December 2003)
• A media desk was set up to ensure that no media query went unanswered. The Cadbury’s
Managing Director addressed consumer concerns with the following key messages:
– Infestation is a storage linked problem.
– It is safe to eat Cadbury chocolates.
– Consumers must exercise the same care in purchasing a chocolate as they would when
buying any food item.
• At a second media briefing, Cadbury announced significant steps to restore consumer
confidence called Project Vishwas (Trust), this entailed:
– A retail monitoring and education program undertaken to address storage problems.
– Significant packaging changes to ‘reduce dependency on storage conditions as much as
possible’ –to be launched within two months.
16. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Strategy
Phase 1: Presenting Cadbury’s view (October-December 2003)
• An Editorial Outreach program with 31 media editors across 5 most affected cities was
orchestrated by the agency to get senior Cadbury spokespeople to share their version of
events in one-on-one meetings.
– National launch of a press advertisement on ‘Facts about Cadbury’, released in 55
publications in 11 languages. It highlighted Cadbury manufacturing and storage and
corrective steps being taken by the company.
– A response cell with a toll free number and an e-mail id were put in place to give trade
a means to directly contact the company, reinforcing the company’s commitment to
quality.
– From the beginning, a series of town hall meetings were held with senior managers
addressing employees on how to manage media, help trade and ensure future
occurrences of such incidents were kept to the minimum.
– Regular email updates from the MD were also used to communicate the company’s
point of view and to ensure consistency of messaging since employees are the
company’s ambassadors.
17. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Strategy
Phase 2: Packaging change (January- March 2004)
• The new ‘purity sealed’ packaging was launched in January 2004.
– This entailed double wrapping for maximum protection to reducing the possibility of
infestation. By investing up to Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) on imported machinery,
Cadbury’s revamped the packaging of Dairy Milk. This was costlier by 10-15 per cent,
but Cadbury didn’t hike the pack price.
– To communicate these significant changes the company was making, Cadbury brought
in a brand ambassador to reinforce the credibility that the company had demonstrated
through its actions. Amitabh Bachchan, a legendary Indian film star, was chosen, as he
embodied the values of Cadbury as a brand and connected with all of India.
• A media conference was organized in Mumbai to launch the new packaging. And this was
followed with press conferences in cities worst affected by the crisis – Pune and Nagpur in
Maharashtra and Cochin in Kerala.
– In these conferences, media persons were encouraged to compare the old and new
packs with an innovative comparison kit and experience the significant changes in
packaging first hand.
– An audio visual with a message from Amitabh Bachchan, was beamed to build
credibility and excitement.
– Simultaneously, senior Cadbury spokespersons had one-on-ones with the Editors of the
Outreach program initiated in November 2003.
18. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Strategy
Phase 2: Packaging change (January- March 2004)
• The announcement of the new pack was done through a testimonial advertisement on TV
called ‘Sincerity’.
– It consciously addressed the problem head-on, with the superstar talking straight into
camera about how before doing the ad he first convinced himself about the quality of
Cadbury chocolates by visiting the factory.
– Consumers respected the brand for not skirting the issue but acknowledging it and
giving a solution to the problem
19. Cadbury Infestation Controversy
Result
• Media Coverage: The media relationship effort clearly helped in making media accept that
the infestation was genuinely caused by storage-linked problems. From the start, all media
reports carried the Cadbury’s point-of-view. The agency helped Cadbury get a total of 378
clips in over 11 languages covering the new packaging, and its benefits, in January 2004.
• Sales: Sales volumes, which declined drastically between week 1 and week 10 of crisis,
climbed back almost to the pre-incident levels by week. within 8 weeks of introduction of
new packaging and communication. This is a clear reflection of restoration of consumer
and hence trade confidence in the corporate brand.
• Image: There was significant upward movement in ratings amongst consumers on
parameters like company image, responsiveness of company and behavioral parameters
like intention to buy Cadbury chocolates. While the new product introduction and
advertising had their role to play in the changing consumer perceptions, the media’s
positive coverage and the trade’s positive pre-disposition played a huge part in helping
Cadbury regain its reputation in the market.
20. • Measure and monitor
online reputation on a
continuous basis on key
metrics
• Brand reputation
• Products & Services
• Competitors
• Campaigns
• Daily positive and
negative alerts
• Respond to
stakeholders and other
stakeholders in social
media
• Identify and qualify
leads
• Track mentions of
brand, products,
leadership and
competition
• Identify and share
online posts that need
online or offline
intervention
What is ORM
LISTEN ENGAGE
INSIGHTS MEASURE
21. Online reputation management (or monitoring) is the practice of
monitoring a reputation on the internet with a view to controlling
the negatives about you, your company or your institution
22. 4 easy steps to
ORM
• Set up sound monitoring – Listening
• Complete Those Social Media Profiles
• Create A Flood Of Positive Content
• Present Yourself As You’d Prefer To Be Perceived
23. 1
The Importance of Customer Redressal
•When customers have a problem with a product, 57% of consumers (including 71% of
16-24 year olds, 65% of 25-34 year olds, and 64% of 35 to 44 year olds) search for a
solution online first. – Source: 2012 Sitel Study
2
•More than 50% of Facebook users, and 80% of Twitter users, expect a response to a
customer service inquiry in a day or less. – Source: Consumer Views of Live Help Online
2012, A Global Perspective, Oracle
3
• 17% of customers age 16-34 said companies could most drastically improve customer
experience by “responding quickly when I ask a question on Twitter.” – Source: 2012
Sitel Study
4
• 15% of 16-24 year olds prefer social media over any other channel for customer
service. – Source: 2012 Sitel Study
5
•More than 40% of consumers using social sites such as Facebook value access to
customer service and nearly one in three expect a company to provide direct access to
customer support and product experts. – Source: 2012 Consumer Views of Live Help
Online, A Global Perspective, Oracle
24. Handling negative reviews/comments
1. Don’t take it
personally.
2. Let them
vent.
3. Ask for
clarification if there
is something that
you do not
understand.
4. Validate your
customer.
5. State back to
the customer
what you heard
him say.
6. You don’t have
to have all the
answers.
7. Share your
commonalities with
your customer
instead of focusing
on the differences.
8. Tell your
customer what
you can do for
him.
9. If your suggestion
doesn’t appeal to the
customer, ask him what
he would like you to do
and see if you can
accommodate him.
10. Explain why
you may be
limited in what
you can do.
11. Thank your
customer for
bringing this to
your attention.
25. FIVE THINGS YOU
SHOULD SAY
Forget trying to "win." Instead, make the customer feel you're
working together to make things right.
“I’m sorry.”
“We’re going to solve this together.”
“What would you consider a fair and reasonable solution?”
“Are you satisfied with our solution, and will you consider doing
business with us in the future?”
“Thank you.”
26. FIVE THINGS TO AVOID SAYING
X Almost nothing leads to a customer service meltdown more
quickly than the use of one particularly offensive phrase.
X 'That’s our policy.'
X 'There’s nothing I can do'
X 'You’ll have to go to our website.'
X 'That’s the manufacturer’s responsibility.'
X 'We’ll get back to you shortly'
27. 84,000 likes and over 3,500 comments
(the Bodyform page itself has 4,148 likes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpy75q2DDow
