PPT case study on Cad bury crisis

1. Corporate Communication
October 2003
ByGopal Kumar,IMIS PGDM(2013-15)

2. Crisis- A critical or decisive point at which an
Organization’s response to an issue,accident or
emergency threatens the reputation and or future
standing of the organization.
Goal- Prevent issues,accidents and emergencies from
becoming crises.

3. Cadbury Crisis:Initial Story
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. He ordered an enquiry
and went directly to the media with a statement.
Over the following 3-week period, resultant adverse
media coverage touched close to 1000 clips in print
and 120 on TV news channels. In India, where
Cadbury is synonymous with chocolate, the
company’s reputation and credibility was under
intense scrutiny.

4. Challenges
 Sales Volume dropped down drastically
 Retailer stocking & display dropped
 Employee morale(sales team) was shaken
 Restore confidence in the key stakeholders
 Build back credibility via the same channels(Media)
 Incident came close on the heels of cola
controversy

5. Objectives
 Form a team to acknowledge each question
 Convey: Perception is reality we don’t like it either,
so we will change it.
 Regain the reputation

6. Strategies
 Admitting infestation is a storage link problem
 It is safe to eat Cadbury chocolates
 Consumers must exercise an extra care
 Retail monitoring & education program undertaken
 Significant packaging change to reduce
dependency
on storage conditions as much as possible
 Amitabh Bachchan was signed as Brand
Ambassador

7. Analysis
Three Cs of Success
 Control
-Took Appropriate action & explained it
 Concern
-Demonstrated concern, compassion
 Credibility
-Knew the facts
-Became first with the news
-Built trust
 Role of PR: Modification required