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Anacin, Bayer, Bufferin, Excedrin and Tylenol

One of these is not like the others.

3/13/2017 | Jeff Jacobs, The Brand Protector

We’ve talked before about the likelihood of facing a recall in the promotional products business — it’s a matter of when, not if. You’re fooling yourself if you think it can’t happen to you. Do the suppliers you’re working with have the ability to actually facilitate a recall? Have you asked? You don’t want to wait until a product failure to find out if your supply chain partners have the chops to handle the logistics, communications, public relations, and legal challenges you will face together. When it comes to a recall, proactive beats reactive every time.

In 1982, Tylenol was the most successful over-the-counter product in the United States. One hundred million people took Tylenol for pain relief. Tylenol was tops in painkillers, with 37 percent market share, outselling the next four leading painkillers combined: Anacin, Bayer, Bufferin, and Excedrin. Had Tylenol been a separate company, profits would have placed it in the top half of the Fortune 500, according to The First 24 Hours, an excellent book on Crisis Management.

We’ll likely never know why someone replaced Tylenol Extra-Strength capsules with cyanide-laced ones, resealed the packages, and put them back on shelves of pharmacies and groceries in Chicago. Thirty-five years later, no one has been charged in the seven deaths caused by the cyanide. Johnson & Johnson, makers of Tylenol, suddenly had to explain to the world why its product was killing people.

You probably won’t ever have to face the 60 Minutes cameras to make an explanation of a product failure of this size. But, you would be well served to do what J&J did. Instead of denying, delaying, or disappearing, the company moved immediately to remove all product from the shelves. They developed tamper-proof packaging that instantly became the standard that continues to protect consumers today. They immediately began to climb the mountain of obstacles to regain consumer trust.

Robert Andrews was assistant director for public relations at Johnson & Johnson at the time. “We got a call from a Chicago news reporter. He told us that the medical examiner there had just given a press conference saying that people were dying from poisoned Tylenol. As it was the first knowledge we had here in this department, we told him we knew nothing about it. In that first call we learned more from the reporter than he did from us.”

Johnson & Johnson chairman James Burke created a seven-member strategy team, which was charged with finding the answer to two questions: “How do we protect the people?” and “How do we save the product?” The plan was to put consumers first by recalling 31 million bottles of Tylenol capsules from store shelves so that no one else was harmed, and offering replacement Tylenol in safer tablet form free of charge. The plan moved ahead quickly to be a complete recall, despite the relatively few tainted capsules that were found. The first deaths occurred on September 29th, 1982 and the product was recalled on October 5th.

Johnson & Johnson’s transparent communication of responsibility to the public proved to be its most efficient public relations tool. More importantly, it was the key to the brand’s survival. Back on the market for just a year, Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol share of the $1.2 billion analgesic market rebounded to 30 percent. During the cyanide crisis, it had bottomed out at only 7 percent.

What do you think your company would do? Would it step up and do the right thing, or would it deny, deflect responsibility, or just disappear from public scrutiny? How about your supply chain partners, can they prove they can conduct a recall, and have they successfully practiced with a mock recall? Don’t wait until you really need help in a situation spiraling wildly out of control. Be proactive while you can. There’s really  no other option, at least not if you want your brand to survive the recall.

Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for more than 35 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He recently retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. As a recovering end-user client, he can’t help but continue to consult Fortune 500 consumer brands on promo product safety when asked. You can also find him working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.

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