This month we're tackling something that hardly needs more publicity - Pokemon. Regardless of whether you consider a shortage of an imported children's toy a legitimate crisis, we did think it interesting to compare the way the media approached the two major brands banking on the phenomenon. In case you don't have kids of your own, or have been living away from the planet for the past month or so, the arrival of "Pokemon: The First Movie" has catapulted this kids craze into news that's worthy of the cover of Time magazine. The trading cards, action figures, and now the movie have become the obsession of every child in America between the ages of 6 and 10 (if you believe the media hype).
As if the media attention, normal word-of-mouth, and parents' natural tendencies toward overindulgence weren't enough to fuel the frenzy, Burger King launched a promotion to give away free Pokemon cards with every "Kids Meal," and Warner Brothers gave away cards with every movie ticket. Throw in eBay and the result was not just a frenzy, but a nationwide shortage. This, of course, resulted in even more media attention - to the point that some media even wondered whether the shortage was part of the marketing plan. (Gee, whatever gave them THAT idea?)
What was interesting to us: while Warner Brothers took some of the heat for the shortage, Burger King drew slightly more fire.
Katie Paine is president of Delahaye Medialink. 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 plays in shaping the perceptions of various stakeholder groups.
| Warner Brothers (a division of Time Warner Entertainment Co. L.P.) | |||
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | A | Can't get much better than the evening news, all the major online sites AND the cover of Time. | If what you want is mass exposure, creating a shortage is not a bad way to go about it. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | A | By issuing a press release on the shortage, WB drew some flack from the media for "creating" the crisis. But in general, having to fess up to record turnout for a movie the critics tore to shreds is not too bad a message to communicate. | Dan Fellman carried the title of "President of Distribution" high enough up to guarantee he'd be quoted extensively. It's always good to give the media access to the highest-ranking authority you can get your hands on. |
| Communication of key messages | B | Virtually every article mentioned that "Pokemon: The First Movie" broke several records in terms of first day sales - another good message for both investors and the public. Despite media criticism, the message that resonated was that this was a movie that your kids must see. WB also made it clear( in actions as well as words) that they were working on solving the problem by bringing in special "Pokemon planes" full of cards to alleviate the problem. By shifting the blame to "collectors" who bought tickets and never saw the movie, they deflected a lot of criticism. | Talk about making lemons out of lemonade! WB's messages were perfectly tailored to the audiences they needed to reach. For investors it was: "We're breaking records." For parents it was: "Don't worry, more are on the way." When in crisis, remember ALL of your audiences and try to craft messages that will allay the fears of each. While normally we don't counsel clients to blame other parties, the mention in several news stories of collectors buying hundreds of tickets and not seeing the movie actually helped WB's cause and made a deliberately-created shortage seem less likely. |
| Management of negative messages | B | While the shortage itself was the most obvious "negative" message - and clearly upset many parents - in reality the worst allegation was that WB had manufactured the problem itself to increase the hype. However, this angle was only picked up by a couple of outlets. | Beware of the "end run" negative message. Whenever we're so focused on the obvious crisis as hand, Murphy's Law dictates that the press will make it worse if it finds a new angle. |
| Impact on customers | A | The shortage clearly worked to WB's advantage. The greater the frenzy, the more kids wanted to see the movie, and the harder parents tried to get there. | It's hard to fabricate a fad, but once you find yourself in the middle of one, it doesn't hurt to publicize it. |
| Impact on investors | A | The message was clear - this movie's a success. The late October/early November time frame saw the stock hit its highest peak since July. | If the crisis is not a matter of life or death, it doesn't hurt for your communications to multitask by paying homage to investors' concerns. |
| Impact on employees | B | I'm not sure I'd want to be an employee of one of the movie theaters. It sounded pretty brutal facing off against parents and children on the same side. But if they own any stock, it was probably a pretty good month for a WB employee. | In any crisis, give employees all the support you can - especially if they're on the front lines of customer wrath. |
| Overall score | A | Regardless of whether they aided and abetted the crisis, the net effect w6as highly positive for WB. | To quote Mary Chapin Carpenter, "sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug." In this crisis, WB was clearly the windshield and made the most of it. |
| Burger King | |||
| Criteria | Grade | Comments | Advice |
| Extent of coverage | A- | I'm not sure Burger King intended to get all the publicity it did, but they clearly were successful in leveraging the movie madness to their advantage. When the plan backfired due to shortages, it only added to the exposure. | The more exposure you get, the more vulnerable you become. In every case, the higher the raw exposure, the harder it is to communicate key messages. This was a classic case of an excellent marketing plan becoming a victim of its own success. |
| Effectiveness of spokespeople | B | Despite a few mixed messages between BK employees and franchisees, spokespeople essentially came across as credible, and effectively communicated key messages. | Like any franchise organization, there are two sets of spokespeople: your own employees and franchise owners. You can control one, but its almost impossible to control the other. |
| Communication of key messages | B+ | The best message was that "stores were sharing supplies to ensure that they didn't run out." That clearly demonstrated a concern for the customer | Whatever you do, show your concern through actions rather than words. |
| Management of negative messages | C- | BK's biggest problem was the perception by some of the media that they were unprepared for the demand and thus were somehow to blame for the hundreds of frustrated parents saying: "Its not fair." In truth, the media is equally responsible for fueling the Pokemon frenzy; but BK, no doubt, contributed to the crisis by spurring demand for the product. | Beware of the spiral effect. In today's media-intensive environment, chat rooms on the Internet fuel online news coverage* which, in turn, fuels broadcast, which fuels customer ire, which further fuels chat room discussions, and so on. A crisis can spiral out of control even faster than ever before. |
| Impact on customers | D | Clearly, the media's portrayal of frustrated parents and disappointed children is a corporate communicator's worst nightmare. But fast response on the part of spokespeople and franchises helped mitigate some of the damage. | Your first line of defense should be to make sure that employees are informed, trained and sympathetic in their dealings with customers. Then take quick action to solve the problem. Whatever you do, don't make it worse by continuing to promote whatever it is that is in short supply. |
| Impact on investors | B+ | Nothing like the media talking about 50% increases in sales volume to make investors feel good about your company. There may be some concern about long-term brand loyalty, but it doesn't appear to have been affected as yet. | The depth of a crisis may depend on which audience is most important to you at the moment. In this case while the customers were frustrated, investors were probably delighted. |
| Impact on employees | D- | Clearly, regional managers and front line employees were frustrated and said so in their comments to the press. | Employees are your front line. Make sure you have open lines of communication and keep them informed constantly. |
| Overall | B | BK did well under passionate circumstances, but suffered at the hands of customers despite a solid business story. | The worst thing you can do in this type of situation is continue to promote your brand while the media is vilifying you. A better approach is to stop all "hype" and focus on the problem at hand. |
Background Checks
Warner Bros.
1998 Sales: $12.3 million
Employees: 29,400
HQ: New York (W.B. in Burbank, Ca.)
Burger King
1999 Sales: $1.4 million
Employees: 26,000
HQ: Miami, Fl.