Crisis CommunicationCadbury India

Corporate CommunicationOctober 2003

By-Gopal Kumar,IMIS PGDM(2013-15)

Crisis- A critical or decisive point at which an Organization’s response to an issue,accident or emergency threatens the reputation and or future standing of the organization.

Goal- Prevent issues,accidents and emergencies from becoming crises.

Cadbury Crisis:Initial StoryOn October 2003, just a month before Diwali, the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner received complaints about infestation in two bars of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury India’s flagship brand with over 70% market share. He ordered an enquiry and went directly to the media with a statement. Over the following 3-week period, resultant adverse media coverage touched close to 1000 clips in print and 120 on TV news channels. In India, where Cadbury is synonymous with chocolate, the company’s reputation and credibility was under intense scrutiny.

Challenges Sales Volume dropped down drastically Retailer stocking & display dropped Employee morale(sales team) was shaken Restore confidence in the key stakeholders Build back credibility via the same

channels(Media) Incident came close on the heels of cola

controversy

Objectives Form a team to acknowledge each question Convey: Perception is reality we don’t like it

either, so we will change it. Regain the reputation

Strategies Admitting infestation is a storage link problem It is safe to eat Cadbury chocolates Consumers must exercise an extra care Retail monitoring & education program

undertaken Significant packaging change to reduce

dependency on storage conditions as much as possible Amitabh Bachchan was signed as Brand

Ambassador

Analysis

Three Cs of Success Control

-Took Appropriate action & explained it Concern

-Demonstrated concern, compassion Credibility

-Knew the facts -Became first with the news -Built trust Role of PR: Modification required

Thank You