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Tylenol Case Study Analysis

This paper examines the incident where several individuals died as a result of taking Tylenol capsules and discusses Johnson & Johnson's successful handling of the problem via various public relations tools.

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Tylenol Case Study Analysis Johnson Johnson's position in the Tylenol case study is one that hasoccurred frequently to others in recent news Cases of wrongdoing on thepart of various big corporations or prominent individuals seem to be at anall-time high However in most cases the wrongdoers fail to addresstheir wrongdoing with the commitment and integrity that Johnson Johnsondid Instead they attempt to justify their behavior on some grounds thatsound plausible What is striking is that Johnson Johnson did not evenengage in any

By behaving the same way internally asexternally, the company proved that it was transparent and above board witheveryone. Never violate their trust. The company credo was the strongest tool in the toolkit, sinceits statement of responsibility and integrity was not only reassuring butremarkable in an age of fairly cavalier wrongdoing. That is the value of maintaining goodwill. Since the company hadtruly done no wrong, there was little risk in using this tool, becausethere was no chance of some undiscovered wrongdoing coming out later thatwould impugn the integrity that is so clearly expressed in the credo.Corporate public relations is primarily intended to maintain a goodrelationship with employees, but it serves another purpose also-presentinga unified front to the world. Why did Johnson & Johnson come through such apotentially damaging situation so well? Ask them how they feel about things, and taketheir comments to heart. What is striking is that Johnson & Johnson did not evenengage in any wrongdoing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.Kaplan, T. Be honest with them, treat them with respect,and honor their opinions. Again, however, the statements worked to Johnson &Johnson's advantage, just as all their other actions did. It withdrewits product at huge company expense and then spent additional huge amountsof money to reassure the public that its products were safe. The key to their successin managing the situation, however, was their focus on their relationshipwith customers and employees. Care about their perspective. It tells the consumer that thecompany cares how he feels and wants to please him. This approachworks with friends and family, and it works equally as well with consumers. Due to the recent globalization of markets, the outcome of the casemight be different if the events occurred today. "There may be an advertising person who thinks he can solve this and if they find him, I want to hire him, because then I want him to turn our water cooler into a wine cooler (1998). In JA Palumbo & SD Bruning, (Eds.), Public Relations Practices: Managerial Case Studies. Consumers on theother side of the world might not be as inclined to invest their trust in acompany they are not really familiar with, for one thing. This demonstrates not only honesty andintegrity but a desire to maintain the relationship. Finally, publicstatements are valuable because they are the company's way of addressingthe public more directly. Everyone wants to be treated this way. Renew and restateyour commitment to them. The Tylenol Crisis: How Effective Public Relations Saved Johnson & Johnson. It used a number of publicrelations tools and techniques to get its message across: the companycredo, corporate public relations, solicited feedback, and publicstatements. The public did buy Tylenol again,and in fact, the company made it through what could have been a brutaldefeat relatively unscathed. Theexternal public-consumers, the government, other drug manufacturers, andanyone else who heard about the situation-also got to see the credo, whichdetailed the company's commitment to them as their first priority. Onthe other hand, the advantages may outweigh that one negative. Johnson & Johnson merely treated theirpublics like an important person that they wanted to do the right thing by;they made it clear that they valued their relationship with the public andwanted to keep it. In the many cases of corporate trouble atother corporations since, companies and individuals have sufferedirreparable damage. Chapter 6 Consumer Relations. For another,they may have taken the opportunity to promote their own similar productsglobally, possibly knocking Tylenol out of the running before the companyhad a chance to recover its position. If we make sure our enterprises are managed in terms of their obligations to society, that is also the best way to defend this democratic capitalistic system that means so much to all of us (2 2). Case 6- 3 A Classic: Tylenol Rides It Out And Gains A Legacy. As James Burke, who was the chairman atJohnson & Johnson at the time, stated: I think the lesson in the Tylenol experience...is that we as business men and women have extraordinary leverage with our most important asset-goodwill-the goodwill of the public. In spite ofthe company's efforts to reassure the public, many experts thought no onewould ever buy Tylenol again due to fears that it might not be safe: I don't think they can ever sell another product under that name," advertising genius Jerry Della Femina told the New York Times in the first days following the crisis. Yet they assumed full responsibility for thepoisonings and took the financial hit squarely in the jaw, withdrawingtheir product from the shelves of all stores nationwide more than once attheir own expense. "Public relations" is really no more than a way ofmanaging a relationship. In addition to using the tools they did, it might have been beneficialfor Johnson & Johnson to find additional ways to get their message out.For example, if this crisis had happened today, they could have used theInternet to great advantage. There is an immediacy in that that is verycompelling. Obviously, Della Femina was wrong. Instead, they attempt to justify their behavior on some grounds thatsound plausible. The Internet reaches each individual one-on-one on his own computer, even when the same message is being sent tomillions of other people. Cases of wrongdoing on thepart of various big corporations or prominent individuals seem to be at anall-time high. There were two publics involved in the Tylenol episode, and Johnson &Johnson handled them both superbly. Companies like Johnson & Johnson that treat their customers the waythey would treat a close and trusted friend have discovered the secret tosuccessful public relations: treat your customers the way you would treatthe ones you love the most. It was the right thing to do, and the public respondedby renewing their trust in Johnson & Johnson. The Pennsylvania State University (1998). This type of response typically succeeds with people,because it honors them. However, by itself, it would probablyjust have been regarded as nice words. On a personal level, when a person does wrong andthat wrongdoing affects another person, the right thing to do is to comeclean and own up to the mistake. However, in most cases, the wrongdoers fail to addresstheir wrongdoing with the commitment and integrity that Johnson & Johnsondid. Johnson & Johnson did the rightthings at the right time, and their big setback ended up being just alittle bump in the road. The primary underlying issue at stake in the poisonings was theintegrity and trustworthiness of the company. The internal public-employees andexecutives within Johnson & Johnson-were reminded of the company's credo,reflecting its extensive commitment to their well-being as employees. Consumers around theworld might respond very differently to Johnson & Johnson's declaration ofintegrity than consumers in America did at the time. (2 2). It says "I care" inthe most meaningful possible way. Tylenol Case Study Analysis Johnson & Johnson's position in the Tylenol case study is one that hasoccurred frequently to others in recent news. Solicited feedback is a valuable tool that communicatesindirectly but still very powerfully. The primary reason was that theytreated their relationships with their internal and external publics asthough they mattered. The company put its money where itsmouth was and leveled with everyone concerning the poisonings. There are people who could be reached on the Internet thatmight not even be aware of the poisonings, however-a potential risk.Informing the public about a problem that may cause them to stop using theproduct is taking a chance that their fears may overpower their trust. By reachingeach individual, the company has an opportunity to win each individual too. In fact, the tragic poisonings were not due toany neglect, oversight, or any form of misappropriation on their part atall; they were guiltless. It is hard to quarrel with the way Johnson & Johnson communicated itsmessage, because the results were so positive. In handling the situationthe way they did, Johnson & Johnson proved both. Thiscredo, which unequivocally and unabashedly expresses Johnson & Johnson'scaring for all the people affected by the company, was a significant factorin reinstating everyone's trust. ReferencesCenter, AH, & Jackson, P. These can be risky because there is little roomto backtrack or soft-pedal later on once one has come out and expressedsomething directly. It succeeded with the public at large for the samereason.

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