View source for Crisis Communications Case Study Tylenol

== Tylenol ==

In 1982, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) faced a major crisis that had the potential to send the company into financial ruin. Tylenol, the country’s most successful over-the-counter product, with over one hundred million users, was under attack. 

Sealed bottles were tampered with and extra-strength Tylenol capsules were replaced with cyanide-laced capsules. These bottles were then resealed and placed on shelves of pharmacies in the Chicago area. Seven people died as a result. Tylenol was called upon to explain why its product was killing people. 

The company first learned of the deaths from a local news reporter. A medical examiner had just given a press conference saying people were dying from poisoned Tylenol. Tylenol had to act fast. 

== What did Tylenol do right? ==

* J&J put customer safety first.
** Company Chairman James Burke immediately formed a seven-member strategy team with the goal of determining how best to protect people, and then, how to save the product. Their first action was to alert consumers nationwide.
** They pulled all advertising and immediately stopped production of the product.
** After finding two more contaminated bottles, the company ordered a national withdrawal of every capsule. (This showed that no matter the cost to the company, customer safety was priority number one.)

* They were candid. J&J used both public relations and advertising to communicate their strategy, keeping customers informed and in the loop.
** They issued a national alert telling the public not to use the product.
** They set up a 1-800 phone line so people could call in with questions and concerns.
** They established a toll-free line for news outlets. This line also included taped daily updates. 
** They held press conferences at corporate headquarters and set up a live television videofeed via satellite to New York.
** The chairman went on “60 Minutes” and the “Donahue” show to share the company’s strategy.

* They offered answers.
** J&J presented an industry first — triple-safety-seal packing that included a glued outer box, a plastic seal over the bottle’s neck, and a foil seal over the bottle’s mouth. Tylenol released the tamper-resistant packaging just six months after the crisis occurred.

== What Good Corporate Crisis Communication Looks Like ==

One of the first instances that required effective corporate crisis communication was in 1982, when a group of individuals began replacing Tylenol with cyanide-laced pills. The crisis created a massive public outcry. In response, Jonson & Johnson, Tylenol's parent company, issued a public apology, and immediately began taking steps to prevent further harm from being done, including a complete recall of the product and new tamper-proof packaging production. Since then, the Tylenol response has been used as a model for corporate crisis communication around the world.


Read more: Corporate Crisis Communication | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6400039_corporate-crisis-communication.html#ixzz15Frtw4ff

Sources: U.S. Department of Defense Crisis Communication Strategies Analysis Case Study: The Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Crisis. 
* htpp://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02C2Johnson%20&%20Johnson.htm