Crisis management: is a new prescription needed?

Strong brands are built on experience and trust. Product issues that threaten consumer safety put these brand foundations in jeopardy.

Crisis Management: Is a New Prescription Needed?

Nigel Hollis

In 1982, Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol was the brand leader in the U.S. analgesic category. Then seven people died in suburban Chicago after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide, and many experts, including ad man Jerry Della Femina, predicted the demise of the brand. Thanks to Johnson & Johnson's deft handling of the situation, Tylenol not only survived, but regained market leadership, providing a textbook example of crisis management. But the world has changed since 1982. If the Tylenol poisonings occurred today, would the principles that guided Johnson & Johnson...

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