From the Surreal to the Ridiculous

This month we tackle two crises that rocked modern consciousness, made us question our belief systems and rethink our definitions of brand equity. In essence, two crises that
changed our worlds...and they couldn't possibly be more different.

The first is Benetton's highly controversial Death Row inmate ad campaign that has sparked furious debate on both sides of the Atlantic, causing Sears to cancel a lucrative
Benetton contract after protesters threatened to boycott Sears stores.

The second (try not to giggle) is the great Twinkies crisis of the Millennium. Short of national transportation strikes that have threatened our country's infrastructure,
seldom has a regional labor action gotten as much publicity. I just couldn't figure out who was feeding (sorry) this stuff to the media. In essence, a strike disrupted
distribution of Twinkies in New England sending millions of consumers into withdrawal, and judging by the media's coverage, threatening the entire New England economy.

Katharine Delahaye Paine is president, Delahaye Medialink (603/431-0111). Image Patrol is based on a subjective content analysis of major news sources covering a crisis.
Comments are not intended to criticize the work of the company in crisis, but rather to illustrate the role the media play in shaping the perceptions of various stakeholder
groups.

Benetton Group
HQ: Treviso, Italy
1998 Sales: $2,318 (mil.)
1998 Employees: 7,235

Benetton Group
Criteria	Grade	Comments	Advice
Extent of coverage	A	This may rank with the famous McIntosh Super Bowl ad for the most PR ever received by an ad campaign...which was probably the point. Benetton's brand may have gotten more exposure for less money than any brand on record. And most of it was consistent with their message.	Two good lessons resulted from this crisis. The first is the value of integrating your communications programs. These days, there's nothing revolutionary about trying to drum up publicity around an ad campaign. What is new is that the ad was designed to generate publicity and controversy rather than just sell sweaters. Guess what, it worked. The second interesting aspect of the campaign was how widespread the coverage was. The issue made headlines around the world and thought leaders opined from London and Rome as well as New York and Chicago. When you are a global brand, expect global coverage.
Effectiveness of spokespeople	A	The point person became the Italian creator of the ads who did an excellent job summing up the thoughts and philosophies behind the campaign. While the explanations may not have held much sway with Sears and/or Wall Street, it did help edify the media.	Use the person closest to the decision-making process. Not only was it clear that the ad designer was the point person, (and fortunately sounded articulate as well), but he was passionate in his beliefs...which made him a credible source.
Communication of key messages	A	"Benetton's message was: ""Our brand is cool, engaged and with it"" and the campaign was right on target. The greater the controversy, the more their key messages were communicated."	Consistency is key to success and Benetton has been very consistent about its brand positioning.
Management of negative messages	D	As in all crises, eventually you lose control of the messages. In this case the Michigan attorney general got almost as much attention as the Benetton spokespeople. The cancellation of the Sears contract and the financial repercussions were mentioned in most of the news stories, as were the concerns of victims' advocacy groups.	For every statement you make in the spotlight, the media is guaranteed to find a person from an opposing point of view, no matter how good your spokespeople are or how closely you guard your messages. Attorneys general have a ton of experience in media relations these days, and they can be most effective. Be prepared, identify them in advance and win them over if possible or neutralize them if not.
Impact on customers	B	Given that their target audience is that most rebellious of demographics - teens and young adults - all the controversy may have well sold a lot of sweaters. But it also had some negative fallout (i.e., cancellation of Sears contract and threatened boycotts).	In this day and age of boycotts and political correctitude, you'd be wise to listen to discussion groups and chat rooms to determine if a boycott is brewing. You can't always be on the right side of an issue, but you can be ready.
Impact on shareholders	F	Normally Wall Street loves publicity, but when Sears cancelled its contract, the Street got nervous and began pointing out flaws in Benetton's overall strategy.	Make sure you integrate your investor relations team into the overall marketing discussion. Clearly they play a huge role in any crisis.
Impact on employees	B	It's never easy to hear your company being berated on the news, but this was a battle of philosophies, and chances are if you really hated issue-oriented advertising, you wouldn't work for Benetton in the first place.	Any crisis is a huge test of employee loyalty. Keep them informed, communicate early and often and the loyal ones will stay. The ones that leave during the tough times you may not have wanted to stay anyway.
Overall score	B	Lots of risk can lead to lots of exposure, but you have to be prepared to suffer the consequences.	Global brands have different needs than local ones, so it's okay for them to break a bunch of local rules. But you can't expect everyone to like it.

Interstate Bakeries Corp.
HQ: Kansas City, MO
1999 Sales: $3,459 (mil.)
1999 Employees: 34,000

Interstate Bakeries Corp.
Criteria	Grade	Comments	Advice
Extent of coverage	A	Who'da thunk it? Major coverage on all national and regional news outlets about a regional strike. But there's something about the Baby Boomer generation and Twinkies that captures the imagination. Given that most news editors are probably from the baby boomer generation, it was hardly surprising that the story tickled their fancy. And of course when a box of Twinkies was fetching offers of $5,150 on eBay it made news.	"Never underestimate the power of the baby boomers and cultural morays to affect the ""fad factor." A ton of us Boomers are out there. And even if we're nowhere near the forefront of cool, we still sway markets.
Effectiveness of spokespeople	B	Mark Dirkes, Twinkies spokesperson, did an excellent job getting the messages out. He used the shortage as a way to talk about the freshness of the product and strong customer demand, and never once mentioned the strike or the controversy.	Choice of a spokesperson is critical. In this case they used a marketer - someone used to staying on message - rather than a lawyer. It clearly worked to Twinkies' advantage.
Communication of key messages	A	The entire episode was a message of commitment to the Twinkies brand. Every consumer quoted said that they had to have Twinkies and none other, and most broadcasters and journalists agreed.	In any kind of shortage, generally an alternative, generic, substitute fills the gap. If consumers are adamant about your brand it sends a great message. Get it out there. If they easily switch, you have a more fundamental problem, and need to work on strengthening your brand.
Containment of negative messages	A	Normally in a labor crisis, tons of recriminations and negative messages appear about how the company treats its workers. In this case, the talk was all about Twinkies and not about the labor issue. Twinkies parent company, Interstate Bakeries Corp., did a beautiful job shifting attention away from the picket lines and onto empty shelves.	If at all possible, provide video footage of, or leads to, something more compelling than picket lines.
Impact on customers	A	Most consumers were temporarily inconvenienced by the absence of Twinkies from store shelves, but the net impact was a tremendous publicity gain for the popularity of a product most of us may have forgotten about.	Strikes are designed to impact customers directly. This is what makes strikes effective. However, in this case, while customers were vocal, they were only temporarily inconvenienced and little harm was actually done to them.
Impact on investors	A	Talk about demonstrating the strength of a brand and brand loyalty!	Quick resolution of labor issues and strong brand loyalty will always be viewed positively by the investment community.
Impact on employees	C	The quick agreement and resolution of the problem indicates management's willingness to listen to employees. So as difficult as labor issues can be, the net impact was probably not all negative.	Clearly the company wanted to resolve the issue, given the short duration of the strike. If you can demonstrate this desire, you're halfway home.
Overall	B	Between nostalgic broadcasters and the humor element, and a quick resolution of the strike, this entire crisis came up as a plus for Twinkies and IBC.	A strong brand, and strong customer loyalty can turn a potential labor disaster into a total victory.

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