Image Patrol: The Body Shop vs. Tom’s of Maine: It All Starts and Ends at the Top

By Katie Paine

The notion that April showers bring May flowers obviously originated with the same intelligence sources that told us that Niger had yellowcake. I don't know about you, but

around these parts, April showers wash away the last of the dirty snow and what pops up is the detritus of any long winter -- half a dozen gloves, soggy newspapers, broken snow

shovels and beer cans.

Similarly, any lingering doubts that the social responsibility movement had come of age were officially been wiped away a few weeks ago when L'Oreal agreed to buy The

Body Shop and Colgate purchased a controlling interest in Tom's of Maine. And just like those spring rains, what was left was pretty ugly.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I've known the leaders of both companies, Dame Anita Roddick and Tom Chappel, for well over a decade. Dame Anita got my attention when

she stood in front of 500 people and answered a question about how her investors felt about her policies by saying: "Stuff the Shareholders!" At the same meeting, Tom Chappel

talked about how his degree in divinity at Harvard shaped his corporate mission statement. They brought a whole new meaning to corporate governance long before it was

fashionable.

Which is why the recent sale of both of their companies sent such shockwaves through the marketplace. What was most curious was how the marketplace and the media responded so

differently to the two announcements.

The Body Shop announcement was greeted by loud jeers throughout the media and the blogosphere. And the jeers had an impact. Recent data from YouGov on the brand

preference of the Body Shop reports its buzz ranking has dropped ten points and its customer satisfaction ranking dropped 11 points. And the bloggers clearly did not accept the

notion that L'Oreal was buying the Body Shop to become more socially responsible.

Tom's of Maine announced its deal just four days later, but received a far kinder and gentler treatment. Most activists took a wait-and-see attitude and the vast majority of

press coverage at least included the information that Tom and his wife Kate Chappel intended to stay involved in the business.

And that's the difference. Dame Anita Roddick told the press last December that she hated the beauty biz, was leaving the world of commerce, and was giving away her wealth. So

when she said that she'd remain involved with L'Oreal, no one believed her.

The most interesting part of both of these leaders is that they both took lessons from the guy who got it completely right. When Gary Hirschberg, CEO of NH-based Stonyfield

Yogurt, sold a stake in his company to food giant Group Danone, the overarching message was: Stonyfield is going to teach the French how to do organic right. And guess

what, that's exactly what happened. The key to Stonyfield's success was the consistency of message followed by equally consistent actions and it all came from the top down.

Contact: Katie Paine is CEO of KD Paine & Partners. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Body Shop
Criteria	Grade	Comments	Advice
Extent of coverage	F	The news received national as well as international coverage, hardly surprising given the ubiquity of the brand. What was particularly damaging was the follow-on coverage of the drop in buzz score and customer satisfaction.	Pay attention to the blog buzz and other "influentials" on fan sites etc. on an ongoing basis. Some of the calls for a boycott might have been averted if L'Oreal had a better relationship with the Blogerati.
Effectiveness of spokespeople	F	The problem is that spokesperson Dame Anita Roddick has been quoted innumerable times slamming the beauty business. When the president of the worlds' largest beauty business, L'Oreal CEO Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones said it was a perfect fit, and that Dame Anita would stay on as a consultant, it made no sense to anyone.	There are three rules of successful merger communications: Consistency, consistency, consistency
Communication of key messages	C	The message that the merger was a great deal for the shareholders and for Dame Anita and her husband came across loud and clear. Lost in the melee was any message that the L'Oreal would respect the values that The Body Shop stood for.	Yes, pacifying shareholders is certainly important, but just as important, particularly when you're dealing with issues of social responsibility are the customers, activists and employees.
Management of negative messages	D	Lots of activists were quoted at the time of the merger, but they almost had it under control until YouGov announced the dramatic drop in The Body Shop's buzz rankings.	Think ahead to a worst case scenario. How are you going to communicate to your constituencies if the stock price tanks or the preference numbers take a dive?
Impact on consumers	F	What more can you say when an independent company announces that the impact on customer satisfaction is down 11 points a month after the merger? The problem was that the Body Shop had built great relationships with its customers and L'Oreal hadn't.	Remember that your most important constituency is the people that buy your products, not the people who buy your stock. In today's environment, shareholders are fickle, but if the people who buy the products go away, there's nothing left.
Impact on employees	D	Between mixed message from the CEO, the founder and their new boss, I wouldn't be surprised if employees were a bit demoralized from the experience.	Inconsistency is just as damaging, if not more so, on employees as it is on your customers.
OVERALL SCORE	D-	Lack of consistency, mixed messages, and marriage with "the enemy" are always recipes for disaster.	Marriages of any sort are the true test of a relationship and if you're marrying someone your friends don't like, you'll have to make a lot of extra effort to get them to the wedding.

Tom's of Maine
Criteria	Grade	Comments	Advice
Extent of coverage	A-/B+	While it didn't get the international coverage that The Body Shop purchase did, it was widely covered particularly in the New England media.	Pay attention to the local media. It's what your employees read, and its what your most loyal customers read as well
Effectiveness of spokespeople	A	Tom Chappel was present, effective and consistent in his communications	Be consistent in word AND behavior- not just on the day of the merger, but for the previous six months.
Communication of key messages	A	The notion that Colgate would help bring Tom's into new markets and that Tom's would help Colgate succeed in the "naturals" marketplace came across loud and clear.	Make the message so intrinsic to the reason for the merger that the media can't help but communicated it.
Management of negative messages	B	Tom's has a significantly lower profile than The Body Shop - in part due to the different characters of their founders. As a result, few stories contained the message that Tom's was marrying "the enemy," although there were a few references to Tom's becoming "Uncle Toms."	The higher the profile, the bigger the target you make for the disgruntled multitudes known as cyber whiners and/or Blogerati
Impact on consumers	A	Because the message that Colgate wanted to become more like Tom's was so clearly communicated, chances are that consumers will for the most part respond positively	If you frame your message in terms that the consumer will appreciate and benefit from, chances are much greater that they'll be excited about a buy out.
Impact on employees	A	The fact that founders Tom and Kate Chappel are retaining a 16% interest should help alleviate fears of abandonment on the part of employees.	Changes is the biggest fear in any employees life, so the more you can assuage the fears that life is going to be radically different under the new owners, the better off it will go.
OVERALL SCORE	A	For a marriage to a former "enemy" this one went as well as might be expected, thanks to the consistency and leadership of the founder.	Charismatic leaders will always attract attention. Just make sure it's the type of attention you want and need.