Mars and Snickers extortion threat Client: Masterfoods Australia New Zealand PR Company: Socom Award Category: Emergency/Crisis Management Award Type: Winner Year: 2006 Executive Summary: Socom assisted MasterFoods Australia New Zealand with their crisis planning during a recall of all Mars and Snickers products from sale in New South Wales following the receipt of threatening letters from an extortionist. Socom worked with MasterFoods throughout the seven-week campaign, which resulted in no member of the public being harmed during the extortion. MasterFoods also received high levels of public and employee support during the campaign. Public relations methods, particularly crisis and media management techniques, were identified as the most effective mechanism to reach the public quickly to communicate the risks, remove the threat and then keep the target publics informed of the progress of the extortion case. Strategically, it was important to segment the campaign into stages to ensure that the audience would understand what the issues were, the progress of the recall and when it was safe to return the products. Once the products were returned to retail shelves, sales were 250% above average during the first week and remained above average for the next four months.
Throughout the campaign, public safety was to be the number one priority and influenced every decision that was made by the crisis team. Situation Analysis: On 8 June 2005, MasterFoods Australia New Zealand received a threatening letter from an extortionist. The letter made demands of a third-party organisation, Star City Casino, however threatened to poison popular Mars and Snickers products in NSW as a way of leveraging the extortionist s demands. Socom assisted MasterFoods with their crisis planning ahead of the decision to recall all the relevant products on 1 July 2005 and throughout the extortion threat. The decision to recall products was made following a further letter from the extortionist claiming that seven Mars and Snickers products had been poisoned and placed on retail shelves in NSW. The challenge was to inform the public, manage the communications and maintain the trust of industry, consumers and employees in the company. Compounding the complexity of the challenge was misinformation released by a third-party authority, which confused the public during the first days of the crisis. Additionally, the identity of the third-party organisation (Star City Casino) was not to be released to the public at the request of the Police. It was imperative for MasterFoods to quickly gain control of a situation that had been instigated by the extortionist. As a snack-food retailer, the need for safe and undamaged products was paramount. The recall would involve contacting over 40,000 retail outlets across the state and removing 3 million products from sale, while maintaining the trust and confidence of the community. Research: Quantitative and qualitative research Research mechanisms were established from 5 July 2005. The consumer research consisted of six quantitative telephone surveys and 20 qualitative focus groups over the seven-week campaign. The research was designed to establish: Consumers awareness of the extortion threat; Understanding of MasterFoods involvement; If MasterFoods had done enough in response; When consumers felt it would be safe to purchase products; and Who should inform the public that it was now safe.
Awareness of facts and communication From the outset, over 97% of those surveyed were aware of the extortion threat. This showed the team that the information was out, however it needed to be managed (graph 1). It was important to reinforce that MasterFoods was the innocent victim. This dipped slightly in the third wave of research (21 July), around the time that Star City Casino was announced as the organisation the extortionist was concerned with (graph 2). Attitudes to MasterFoods actions and who should advise of the products return MasterFoods had done enough or more than consumers were expecting. This opinion increased overtime with continuing communication. By the fifth wave of research, 98% of consumers believed that MasterFoods had done more than what they d expected them to do or had done the right thing (graph 3). It was also important to determine who consumers had confidence in during the extortion threat. This helped determine who would be the appropriate source to declare that the products were again available and safe for purchase. The research revealed that the MasterFoods CEO, Andy Weston-Webb, gave the most confidence to consumers. This assisted the crisis team s decision as to who should announce that the products were safe and available for purchase (graph 4). Attitudes about when it would be safe to eat the bars again When consumers were asked when it was safe to purchase the products again, the research showed that 66% of consumers believed that it was safe to eat the products now (19 August). This reinforced the decision, with the agreement of the appropriate authorities, to return the products (graph 5). Supplementary research The quantitative and qualitative research was supplemented by an analysis of local, national and international media reports. This was used to determine how the media were interpreting the key messages. Throughout the campaign, the media team recorded that in 92% of cases, the media interpreted the key messages and facts correctly. Regular web-based research of web-blogs on consumer and media sentiments was also conducted. The day after Mars and Snickers products appeared back on shelves in NSW, a blog entry was made on the B&T Online website. you have to tip your hat to him (Andy Weston-Webb) and the Mars PR team for brilliantly handling the extortion threat they caught up in. Weston-Webb has been the singular strong voice
of the extortion and the response was measured and the recall relentless http://www.bandt.com.au/blog/blogposts.asp?postid=25 Source: The research proved to be an essential element of the entire campaign and was a vital lag and lead indicator tool. Target Policies: The target publics for this campaign were divided into two clear categories; primary and secondary. All members of the target publics needed to feel assured that their safety was MasterFoods primary concern. It was important to keep the audience informed of the progress of removing the products, disposal, fresh manufacturing and returning products to market at the appropriate time. Each category of target public had a desired action that the crisis team wished to see displayed. Primary audiences NSW consumers NSW industry and retail outlets MasterFoods employees Secondary audiences Consumers throughout the rest of Australia Industry and retail outlets throughout the rest of Australia Action desired No consumption of products during the threat Confidence in MasterFoods Purchase products when threat removed Remove products from sale confidence in MasterFoods Support and sell products when threat removed Support MasterFoods Action desired Continue to purchase products no threat Continue to stock and support the products no threat
Communication Strategy: The MasterFoods crisis management plan was guided by key rules be open, be honest, act quickly and be available. This process allowed for maximum flexibility, as the team could never be sure if or when another demand would be made from the extortionist. Strategic direction To meet the overall goal the crisis team needed to: Segment the crisis into stages Communicate quickly and effectively Use technology to assist with internal and external communication Communicate directly where possible with employees, the industry and consumers. Strategic stages Four strategic stages were developed which had corresponding tactics to assist MasterFoods meet the agreed objectives. The stages for the communication strategy were: 1. Announce recall Announce to the public, with the NSW Police, that the products were immediately being withdrawn from sale and that no person should consume a Mars or Snickers product until advised it was safe to do so. 2. Make it safe Recall all Mars and Snickers products from across New South Wales and destroy them. Once destroyed, prepare new and fresh products in a secure location ready for distribution once the threat was deemed to be over. 3. We re coming back Show the community that Mars and Snickers products are ready to be returned and will be available once it is safe to do so. 4. We re back Once it has been deemed safe, return the Mars and Snickers products to retail outlets thanking the community and partners for their support.
Implementation: The four strategic stages that were developed were supported by the following communication tactics. Stage one Announce recall 1 5 July 2005 Tactics Joint media conference Media releases Consumer hotline and call centre Media centre Media interviews Retail outlet communication Community service announcements (CSA) and advertisements Employee communication Activities Announced the recall in a joint media conference with the NSW Police Media releases and updates issued on a daily basis to provide factual and accurate information Established a consumer hotline and call centre for members of the community Established a media centre to issue all media statements, answer media questions and co-ordinate media interviews and video news release (VNR) production Conducted all media interviews one-on-one wherever possible Communicate directly with the 40,000 retail outlets across NSW through faxed, e-bulletins and telephone calls Produced television and press CSAs and advertisements for distribution to major television stations, metro newspapers and the ethnic press Issued internal e-bulletins to all employees of MasterFoods to keep them up to date with the recall progress. See Appendix A, 2.1 for implementation samples. The four strategic stages that were developed were supported by the following communication tactics.
Stage one Announce recall 1 5 July 2005 Tactics Activities Joint media conference Announced the recall in a joint media conference with the NSW Police Media releases Media releases and updates issued on a daily basis to provide factual and accurate information Consumer hotline and call centre Established a consumer hotline and call centre for members of the community Media centre Established a media centre to issue all media statements, answer media questions and coordinate media interviews and video news release (VNR) production Media interviews Conducted all media interviews one-on-one wherever possible Retail outlet communication Communicate directly with the 40,000 retail outlets across NSW through faxed, e-bulletins and telephone calls Community service announcements (CSA) and advertisements Produced television and press CSAs and advertisements for distribution to major television stations, metro newspapers and the ethnic press Employee communication Issued internal e-bulletins to all employees of MasterFoods to keep them up to date with the recall progress. See Appendix A, 2.1 for implementation samples. Stage three We re coming back 13 July 4 August 2005 Tactics Activities Announce the target After receiving permission from the NSW Police, announced the organisation that the threat was actually against Star City Casino Manufacture fresh stock Invited the media to view the manufacturing of new and fresh products in a secure location Regional product giveaway Organised product giveaways in three regional NSW towns as a sign of thanks to the community for their support and patience Media releases Continued to issue daily media releases and statements on the progress of the recall Community service announcement Produced another CSA for television Media interviews Continued one-on-one media interviews
See Appendix A, 2.3 for implementation samples. Stage four We re back 5-19 August 2005 Tactics Activities Sydney product giveaway A product giveaway event was held in Sydney as a sign of thanks to the community for their support and patience Announced it was safe Announced that the products were coming back and on what date Media thanks Product packs sent to NSW media (tv, print and radio) to thank them for their support Media event Held a media event in a supermarket on the day that products were available for purchase Community service announcement Broadcast the final CSA thanking the community for their support Media Media releases continued to be issued up until the day that products were available for purchase again. Media interviews were scheduled for the remaining days leading up to the products return. See Appendix A, 2.4 for implementation samples. Results: To help guide the crisis management team through the Mars and Snickers extortion threat, a Values-Based Decision Making Pyramid was devised. See Appendix A, 3.1 for the Values-Based Decision Making Pyramid. As a consequence of using this structure, the following results were achieved: Not a single person was found to be ill as a direct result of the extortion threats. All possible symptoms reported by consumers were escalated, but found to be unrelated to the extortion threats. Over 3 million Mars and Snickers products were removed, collected and destroyed across NSW. New stock was returned to NSW retail shelves only when it was considered safe to do so. At that time, 66% of consumers believed that it was the right time to make the products available. See Appendix A, 1.2 for research data Media coverage totalled over 6,500 print, radio and television hits. The media commented that MasterFoods was doing a good job with its handling of the extortion threat. See Appendix A, 3.2 for the media hits collated and 3.3 for endorsements
Over 100,000 products were given away in regional and metro cities as part of the We re coming back stage. Consumers welcomed the products back, with sales being 250% above average during the first week back on sale. Evaluation: After evaluating the campaign, it was found that MasterFoods has achieved their goal of recalling all Mars and Snickers products quickly and safely in NSW whilst protecting the reputation of MasterFoods, by meeting their objectives. This was achieved in the following way: Objective 1: Protect public safety No member of the public was poisoned or fell sick as a result of the extortion threat. Degree of success: 100% Objective 2: Ensure 90 per cent of key messages are contained in the media coverage The media coverage, which included television, radio and print media, 92% contained the key messages prepared for each stage of the campaign and as translated in the media releases issued. Degree of success: 100% Objective 3: Return the products to shelf when it is safe, with at least 80% public support The research found that: 98% of the community believed that MasterFoods had done more than they had expected them to do or had done the right thing 92% were confident in the safety of the products Employees were fully supportive of the return and throughout the extortion threat, evidenced by letters of support and offers to assist. Degree of success: 100% Objective 4: Return product sales to normal levels within four weeks of return Product sales were 250% above average during the first week back on sale, with sales remaining above average for the following four months. Degree of success: 100%