The Effects of Communication on There's a Syringe in My Pepsi Can Introduction In most cases a crises occurs at the most unexpected times. The crisis seems to take the organization by surprise and is usually reached due to a lack of a control and response system. This is apparent in the case study "There's a syringe in my Pepsi can!" Effective communication is the key to successful communication to the Pepsi crises. (Center, 2003) Case Background In this case the consumer claimed to have found a hypodermic syringe in a can of diet Pepsi. This was quickly followed by many similar reports from around the country. Pepsi immediately produced and distributed information showing that it was impossible for a foreign substance to make its way into the canning process. The president and other top managers made themselves available to the media where they explained the company's safety measures in the canning process. Public fears were dealt with and the crisis was diffused. (Center, 2003) Targeted Public In this case the most important publics targeted were the consumers, the press and the employees of Pepsi. The public that Pepsi was targeting was both internal and external. The internal public would consist of all Pepsi's employees. It is important that the employees of Pepsi be confident in the product they their employer is trying to sell. If that level of confidence is not established then it would be difficult for an employee to stand behind their company's product. The external public targeted would consist of any individual or organization who drinks or purchases soda and the press. Individuals or organizations that purchase or drink soda need to be targeted in order to keep the business of these individuals. The press needs to be targeted in order for Pepsi to maintain a positive outlook through the media. A crisis of this nature could result in individuals choosing to purchase different brands of soda over Pepsi for the fear of finding a syringe in their Pepsi can and the press promoting Pepsi in a negative nature. Impact of Communication This case shows that Pepsi has an effective crisis management team who did their job. This was displayed through the fact that they earned the respect of there clients and employees through effective communication. Good crisis management was used by the company taking action to get back on track as early as possible with out losing a significant amount of customers or sales due to the incident.
Pepsi needed a strong regional partner. Pepsi had been falling behind to Coke in Mexican market. However, changes in the regulatory environment had cut Coke’...
The case of the Indiana state fair was a clear example of what happens when an organization does not have a crisis management team, plan, strategy, or crisis organizational learning experiences. As we observed, so many individuals from separate departments did not effectively communicate with one another. It sort of reminds me of the whole Titanic disaster, only smaller in nature. Where there were so many signs, and opportunities to prevent the crises from effecting them directly. Unfortunately there were too many missed opportunities, and eventually it was a race against time, and time won!
It took Coke’s Chairman and CEO Douglas Ivester seven days to provide a formal apology to Belgian consumers (Schwartz, 1999). Because of Coca-Cola’s delayed response to the crisis, they risked spreading anxiety over its products among its consumers (Abelson, 1999). However, Coca-Cola did cooperate with the Belgian health ministry throughout the crisis to make sure its products were safe. For Coca-Cola’s investors, the lack of preparation and quick response from its CEO may have brought doubt on whether the company could manage growth and future strategy well (Schwartz,
There are many definitions for what is considered to be a crisis. Alan Jay Zaremba, author of the textbook ”Organizational Communication,” combines several definitions of the word to conclude that a crisis is “an incident that occurs unexpectedly, could damage an organization’s reputation, values, and/or performance, and requires effective communication. (Zaremba, 2010) In the case of the Nuance Group, their current situation completely blindsided the organization, was a nightmare for their reputation, and communication was now the key element in restoring their image. This was indeed a crisis.
In a pepsi ad in 2017, Kendall Jenner appear in the ad handing a pepsi can to a policeman while protest were going on about Black Lives Matter.The commercial starts with a Black Lives matter protest and kendall jenner notices and she goes to the protest and hands one of the officers there a pepsi and he drinks it and after everyone is celebrating. Many got offended saying that just because she is rich an famous doesn’t mean she can solve the black lives matter issue with a pepsi can.Pepsi got a lot of hate for this ad. People were boycotting all pepsi product because of this. Pepsi finally took down the ad and everything wasn't completely back to normal people are still mad and disappointed at pepsi for even thinking the ad was a good idea.
..., Crisis communication failures: The BP Case Study, International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics, Issue 2, March-April 2013, accessed 28 March 2014,
According to David Abrahams, senior vice-president of Marsh Risk Consulting Practice and an expert in brand risk, there is often a demonstrable link between the way in which a crisis is handled by a company and what happens to that business and its associated brand. 'The way in which any crisis is handled becomes a visible test of management capability,' he says. 'If that crisis arises from a fundamental breach of trust or performance, the compound effect of the bad handling can be devastating.'
... it’s a buyer’s market, therefore instead on focus on push advertising and trying to compile prospective customers to buy their product, Pepsi is trying to make Pepsi a part of the consumers life so, whether consciously or unconsciously, if a customer goes out to buy soda the first thing that comes to his/her mind, is Pepsi. I find this especially intriguing, because as an aspiring entrepreneur I hope to one day market my products with the same if not better technics as Pepsi.
By the leader and or leaders not stating that they need a new formula, members would have probably come up with ideas such as introducing a new product instead tailored to Pepsi drinkers taste and not tinker with a winning product already. They definitely should have used a devil’s advocate to argue why their changing the formula was a bad idea, I’m sure the point of what about the current Coca-Cola’s consumers that already like and drink Coke would have come up. The most important thing was of course that they should have considered their already loyal consumers views, and not have focused so much on winning such a narrow group of Pepsi consumers, better research through surveys of their loyal customers should have revealed their feelings about a change in their beloved product and that the customer is king and not the executives when it comes to success or failure of a
Competitive pricing is a factor, which the firm should keep in mind all the time. The scenario is very important because there can be civil disturbance, fall in sales due to inflation, or cross-border situations. As a result, Pepsi has to stay updated with all changes and policies in order to adapt.
Frito-Lay controlled 40% of the USA-market assuring high volume production by increasing internal coordination with PepsiCo developing the Power of One strategy consisting in mixing snacks with beverages and sauces produced by Peps...
The communication process is not something that begins when a crisis rears its ugly head rather it is a process that takes place in preparing for a crisis before it happens. While the term crisis represents a blanket term used to describe many situations, each situation is unique, thus presenting different obstacles to overcome. However, with a well-established advanced plan in place an organization places itself in a position to overcome and work around obstacles. The development of a comprehensive crisis management plan is one achieved through effective communication where each member of the crisis management team has an advanced shared understanding of his or her role and responsibility during a time of crisis (du Pr'e, 2005).
Since neither of the products created the measurable sales and market share increase Pepsi needed, PepsiCo International (PCI) executives conceived of a plan to create a new tagline and re-brand all existing Pepsi products, signage, advertising materials and in-store display units. The executives envisioned a simultaneous, global campaign that would create stronger brand equity and resonance in the consumer consciousness.
Control of market share is the key issue in this case study. The situation is both Coke and Pepsi are trying to gain market share in this beverage market, which is valued at over $30 billion a year. Just how is this done in such a competitive market is the underlying issue. The facts are that each company is coming up with new products and ideas in order to increase their market share.
The main threat of the company is not from the local producers but from the global producer Pepsi Co that has similar product line and methods of manufacturing and distribution.