BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Three decades ago, Johnson & Johnson wrote the modern crisis communications playbook with its response to the Tylenol tampering scare. Soon after that crisis erupted, the company voluntarily recalled all of their over-the-counter pain medications – not just those in the affected area outside Chicago – at great cost to its bottom line. While J&J and law enforcement worked together on the case, the company communicated often with all its stakeholders to keep them informed of ... READ MORE

Despite bipartisan support in Congress and the backing of President Obama, legislation aimed at strengthening America’s food safety infrastructure for the first time in decades remains stalled in the U.S. Senate. In the wake of the massive salmonella outbreak that has resulted in at least 1,300 illnesses and the recall of more than half-a-billion eggs, that’s almost certain to change. In a recent conference call with reporters, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Associate Commissioner for Food ... READ MORE

While last week’s announcement that Wright County Egg was recalling a record-breaking 380 million eggs because of a salmonella outbreak certainly qualified as a nightmare scenario, it was a crisis a well-prepared agribusiness company should be able to manage. Even with the next week’s news that the total number of affected eggs ballooned to more than half-a-billion, the situation wasn’t necessarily fatal. Unfortunately for Wright County Egg, however, survival in such lingering high-profile crises often ... READ MORE

Early on the morning of June 24, thousands of people across the country lined up to be among the first to purchase Apple’s iPhone 4. Having generated a level of mania usually associated with top rock concerts, the power of the brand built on iMacs, iPods, and iPads was on full display. But when those eager consumers took to their computers that same day to voice rampant displeasure with the iPhone 4’s now well-documented antenna reception ... READ MORE

Is there a food maker, retailer or consumer product manufacturer in the United States that isn’t insured against fire damage? Of course not. Yet a fire insurance claim is extremely rare, occurring perhaps once in the history of most companies. Now what are the odds that a typical manufacturer or retailer will have to recall a product in the next year? Based on the hundreds of recalls announced each month by the Food and Drug Administration, ... READ MORE

In 1998, 16-month-old Danny Keysar was killed after his crib at a Chicago-area day care facility collapsed. When his parents learned that the crib had been recalled five years earlier, they were understandably outraged. The day care provider had no idea the crib had been recalled. Neither did the parent who had donated it. An underlying cause of the problem that led to Danny Keysar’s death is called “recall fatigue.” With tens of millions of products ... READ MORE

Each week, Bulletproof Blog™ features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, with Congress mulling changes to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), we spoke with Richard Hubner, co-founder and President of The Sapphire Group, to discuss proposed changes to the law and the impact of what Mr. Hubner calls “policy-based science.” Mr. Hubner is a public health specialist with extensive expertise in the fields of ... READ MORE

Each week, Bulletproof Blog™ features exclusive interviews with thought leaders on issues of critical importance to companies and countries. This week, with recent recalls of deli meats, lettuce, and ground beef keeping food safety issues top of mind for the U.S. consumer, we interview David Sterling and Jane Griffith, two of the nation’s foremost experts on food and beverage supply chains and their impact on the integrity of the food we eat. David Sterling, a partner ... READ MORE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to impose tough new standards aimed at curbing instances of food-borne illness arising from tainted poultry. At a time when recent recalls of lettuce, deli meats, and ground beef are raising food safety worries among consumers, the USDA views this as a necessary step to calm an increasingly anxious public. With a recent Deloitte survey finding that 65 percent of consumers are concerned about the safety ... READ MORE

Every time you tune in to a morning show, open an Internet browser, or pick up a newspaper these days, it seems there is some “scientific” study claiming to find a new health hazard related to products we all use every day. Two weeks ago, it was a new study blaming high fructose corn syrup for obesity. Last month, it was a study warning of the addictive nature of junk food. For us non-scientists, this is all ... READ MORE