04/01/2012
Some major corporate crises live in the public memory for decades simply as management models. The best practices are memorialized in business lore and studied by professional and non-professional audiences alike. The impact of a Tylenol recall thus yielded brand-enhancing dividends for Johnson & Johnson lasting almost thirty years. I expect Taco Bell’s handling of last year’s incipient litigation over the content of its product to likewise prove an ongoing reputational asset.
Alas, the opposite is true as well in an age of increased scrutiny and transparency. Bungle a situation and you may be remembered at least as much for the bungling as for the purported offense. The point was driven home on January 2, 2012 when Lowe’s was included by Business News Daily on a list of the ten biggest public relations disasters of 2011 because of how the company handled its sponsorship of the reality show All American Muslim.
Muslims were obviously offended when Lowe’s yielded to pressure from the Florida Family Association and withdrew that sponsorship. Lowe’s denies the connection, but that Christian group objected to the program for only showing Muslims in positive roles.
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