Nicholas Vollten

Situational Analysis

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently held a press conference in Daytona, Florida, accusing Healthy Foods Company (HFC) of animal cruelty. The alleged offense is said to have taken place at the Cutlip Research Center, an independent research facility in Albany, Georgia. The accusation is the result of a nine-month undercover operation conducted by a PETA representative. The representative in question claimed to have captured video of HFC researchers exploiting and abusing research participants. HFCs initial response to the video was stating it was sensationalized and the representative had a clear conflict of interest. HFC asserted the dogs and cats in the footage were in no way related to any of its research studies. Additionally, the video did not demonstrate any of the duties the representative was responsible for (e.g., improving the lives of the animals). PETAs secret operation was fueled by two important events. The first was a protest which took place several years ago in the United Kingdom. An animal rights activist group, closely affiliated with PETA, protested HFC after discovering 12 years of published research highlighting the companys practice of euthanizing dogs and cats. HFC announced shortly thereafter it would cease all research practices that resulted in the euthanasia of research subjects. The second occurred around the same time. PETA requested a meeting to discuss the progress of HFCs efforts to improve research conditions here in the U.S. PETA representatives met with Brian Brown, formerly the Associate Director of Global External Relations and Dan Study, the Director of Research and Technical Development. Dissatisfied with HFCs efforts, PETA launched its undercover operation.

PETAs public announcement has created numerous concerns resulting in the following problem: the immediate reputation of Healthy Foods Company. As a result, HFCs first priority consists of two components. The first is the need to appoint a designated spokesperson for HFC to ensure the alignment of all subsequent communication. The recommended the spokesperson is the CEO. She possesses the dynamism, intellect, and fluency needed when dealing with the public and media outlets. Simultaneously, measures need to be taken to inform all HFC employees about the current situation and insist that no one speak to the media other than the CEO. This will demonstrate HFCs high regard for its employees informational needs and emotional welfare, while at the same time minimizing the risk of conflicting messages.

Assumptions

HFC is a publicly owned company HFC is a market leader in specialty animal products and food HFC has a PR/Marketing budget allotted for situations such as these HFC currently has an open line of communication with all stakeholders giving the organization the ability to deliver quick and accurate messages to each group

HFC exceeds the standards set forth in the Animal Welfare Act and by the US Department of Agriculture

PETA held their press conference on February 14, 2010 and the campaign began on February 15, 2010

There is no proof that the acts of cruelty happened at the independent research facility, but the public has seen the video and it has raised doubts

Research

When responding to a crisis one of the most important factors that will determine the future of an organization is proper research. In this situation, a lot of research, both formal and informal needs to completed to fully understand what is going on and to determine the most appropriate avenues through which to respond. To enhance the accuracy and significance of the research HFC will go through a process, focusing first on informal research, then on more formal research. HFC will begin the informal research with an in-depth analysis of the situation and possible variables i.e. what exactly we are being accused of, and if there were any other avenues through which PETA gathered their information. This will help to get everyone on the same page and make sure HFC does not overstep its authority in this matter. After this, it would be important that HFC look further into the published accounts about the 12 years of research which sites the use of euthanasia. HFC needs to understand its own history thoroughly as to avoid any instances of misinformation. The next step would be to compile research/media/case studies from other organizations that have had similar allegations against them i.e. IAMS, Pedigree, and Tylenol. This would help to get a better idea of the options and give HFC a kind of public relations forecast so it might have a more accurate idea of how the public will react to certain tactics and messages. HFC acknowledges that what we as an organization say about ourselves isnt as important as what is being said about us. Thinking along these lines, HFC would perform an ongoing content analysis where various sources such as CNN, Fox, Twitter, Facebook, Google feeds, local media and others will be analyzed for content referencing HFC as well as in what sense the company is mentioned. To begin the formal research, HFC will perform personal interviews with various HFC and Cutlip employees to maintain that all employee perceptions are consistent with HFCs

mission statement. This will help to get everyone on the same page and improve/maintain employee moral. It will also help to get a general sense of the problem from those closest to it; the employees. We will go on to locate every single retailer of HFC products so we can guarantee effective message delivery to all those affiliated with our organization. Much focus will go into finding out what other facilities we could use for future product testing so we do not have to use Cutlip and continue to risk the reputation of HFC. This would help to show that HFC is making necessary changes to remove the possibility of maltreatment. Lastly, we would hold focus groups with current and potential pet owners to gauge their loyalty to the company, or at least find out whether they would be willing to purchase products from HFC. After performing our informal and formal research we should have an idea of whom we are speaking to specifically as well as what kinds of messages would work best for each stakeholder/public. The methods chosen will add minimal cost to the campaign and align with HFCs message of caring and compassion with regard to animals and their owners. They will also coincide with our employees needs as the methods look into not only the past, but the present and future as well. This will improve feelings among employees and give them greater confidence in HFC as an evolving and innovative organization.

Stakeholders

Below is a list of the most important stakeholders and the messages that need to be communicated to each. Employees Employees need to hear the why and the what from the organization first. The absence of information often leads to the creation of fabricated information and may lead to distrust. HFC needs to demonstrate to its employees the fact that they are valued and will be kept in the know. They need to know and understand the current situation (i.e., what/why HFC is being accused of and what actions HFC plans to take in order to correct the misconception), and its potential impact on the future of the company. Now is the time to reinforce HFCs core values and explain that every member of the organization contributes to those values. Employees should be informed that the CEO is the official spokesperson for the organization and that it would serve in the organizations best interests to refrain from speaking to the media to reduce the possibility of mixed messages. Consumers HFC has built a reputation for championing the well-being of four-legged family members as well as being a high-quality pet product producer. PETAs press conference and video has raised doubts and called into question that reputation. HFC needs to express its deepest apologies for any anxiety the situation may be causing. HFC would never engage in any research activities that would jeopardize its relationship with the consumers with which HFC shares its love and compassion for animals. HFC cares about the concerns of its consumers, in order to demonstrate this HFC needs to inform them of the numerous ways in which they can contact the organization and express their questions and concerns.

Media The media are going to have a field day with the debate regarding the position of the undercover PETA representative while working at the Cutlip Research Center. HFC needs to take a proactive approach and remove the uncertainty of the representatives responsibilities before blame can be assigned. Additionally, HFC needs to address why it took so long to discover the representative wasnt doing her job and how HFC plans to improve its screening, monitoring, and training processes regarding all employees. The CEO of HFC has always maintained a good rapport with the media. Her reputation for being fair, honest, and compassionate will aid in fair coverage of this situation. Shareholders HFC needs to keep all shareholders up-to-date on the situation as it continues to unfold. The potential impact on quarterly and annual earnings, potential new products and services, etc. needs to be communicated in a timely and accurate manner so trust and transparency are maintained. Retailers/Distributors HFC has built and maintained quality relationships with retailers and distributors of its products. HFC cannot let its retailers and distributors lose faith in the organization. HFC cannot be perceived as concerned only with its well being. HFC needs to communicate its desire to satisfy the concerns of the retailers and distributors and preserve the relationship first and foremost. PETA HFC needs to let PETA know that it is neither a defensive organization nor a hesitant organization. As an offensive organization, HFC needs to inform PETA of its willingness to

work cooperatively to meet and exceed the expectations of the activist group. PETA needs to understand that HFC is not the enemy and that their undercover representative did not accurately portray HFCs research practices. Moreover, HFC needs strengthen the notion that both the organizations inherently value the well-being of animals. Endorsers Two of HFCs more notable endorsers are the Humane Society of the US and the American Veterinary Medical Association. In order to maintain continued support from such organizations, HFC needs to demonstrate its high regard for the well-being of all animals, not just the ones in its research facility.

Objectives Strategies/Tactics

Employee

Objectives 1. Inform 100% of HFC employees of the accusations PETA has made and the companys plan of action by February 18, 2010 2. Solicit feedback from 100% of HFCs research team regarding the improvement of animal treatment practices and living conditions by March 1, 2010.

3. Train employees on how to politely and quickly refer inquiries by the media to upper level management by February 22, 2010

Strategies By informing our employees of the situation first and foremost, HFC will retain their trust and will subsequently be able to leverage each type of integrated communication (vertical, external, and horizontal). o Vertical communication: Messages need to be disseminated up and down HFCs ranks quickly and efficiently. When people have the necessary information and know they have the support of their co-workers and managers it allows them to act quickly and confidently. o External communication: The employees will be made aware of the fact that the CEO will be the spokesperson to the media. However, HFC also needs to keep in mind that its employees can be its biggest spokesperson (i.e., can tell friends, neighbors, and customers that may call in with questions) that HFC is a great

organization and always acts in the best interest of the people (and animals) that support it. o Horizontal communication: HFC can raise its standards in its UK headquarters to be more proactive. Tactics Send out memos, E-mails, and company newsletters Have upper level managers meet with groups of employees so they can ask questions and express concerns Teleconference with department heads in HFCs international offices

Consumers
Objectives 1. Keep sales totals for the months of February and March 2010 within a 30% margin of last months sales 2. Attain a 70% in favor rating of HFC and its animal research practices by July 2010. 3. Create Internet opinion polls for consumers by February 16, 2010

Strategies By utilizing a combination of the Internet, special events, and various other print materials HFC will seek to retain a majority of its consumers and reinforce its positive reputation. By soliciting opinions of consumers HFC will demonstrate that it cares about the concerns of the public Tactics Place messages on products directing them to the HFC opinion webpage Distribute pamphlets containing health and safety tips at retailer locations Hold a Customer Appreciation Day and distribute a Happy Pets Club Card

Media
Objectives 1. By February 17, 2010, release the documents describing the duties the PETA representative was responsible for while working at the Cutlip Research Center

2. To facilitate accurate information in a timely manner, create a newsroom on HFCs website specifically for members of the media by February 16, 2010 3. Inform all relevant media of February 19th press conference by February 15th.

Strategies By providing the media with honest, factual, up-to-date information in a timely manner HFC will create a positive and proactive reputation Produce and distribute a media kit including: DVD with HFCs mission and a short video tour of the research facility, press release, brochures, pamphlets and information focused on animals, animal rights, animal safety and humane animal testing. Tactics Assign HFC CEO as spokesperson to the media Hold a press conference Use social media outlets (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Blogs) to disseminate messages quickly and inform them of the newsroom on HFCs website Send out media kits Invite members of the media to tour HFC facilities

Shareholders
Objectives 1. Draft a formal letter to send to all shareholders detailing the allegations made by PETA and HFCs proposed course of action by February 16, 2010 2. Have at least one shareholder meeting every quarter for one year starting in February 2010 3. Ensure that at least 85% of the shareholders agree with HFCs proposed course of action Strategies By keeping shareholders informed HFC will strive to maintain a strong, mutually beneficial, and financially rewarding relationship Tactics Formal letters Quarterly meetings Personal phone calls to shareholders that hold more than 10% of company investments

Retailers/Distributors
Objectives 1. Ensure retailer and distributor orders to not drop over 20% for the quarter 2. E-mail distributors and retailers at least once a week regarding new products, promotions, and philanthropies starting March 2, 2010 3. Acquire one new distributor for HFC products per quarter starting May 2010

Strategies By communicating openly and honestly with retailers and distributors HFC will create and maintain lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. Tactics Weekly E-mails to distributors Sales monitoring from each retailer/distributor Create and send promotional materials to potential new retailers/distributors

PETA

Objectives 1. Invite PETA for a tour of HFC research facilities on March 10, 2010 2. Gain a 70% in-favor rating of HFC and its research practices from PETA by July 2010 3. Have at least one meeting per month with representatives of PETA starting March 1, 2010 Strategies Rather than attacking PETA, HFC will use collaborative methods in order to reach a mutually beneficial outcome Despite PETAs accusatory and malicious messages, HFC will continue to be respectful and diplomatic in all of its responses Tactics Quarterly meetings Inviting PETA on tours of HFC facilities Surveying members of PETA to assess their approval rating of HFC Hold a fundraiser in conjunction with PETA to raise money for animal abuse

Endorsers

Objectives 1. Schedule a personal meeting with every current HFC endorser to discuss recent events and address their concerns by the end of June 2010 2. Obtain two new endorsers by February 2011 3. Collaborate with current endorsers to hold two special events by the end of the calendar year Strategies By communicating HFCs mission and goals towards the betterment of animal testing practices HFC will obtain two new endorsers. HFC will host two special events with all endorsers to maintain positive perceptions of HFC. Tactics Personal Meetings Host two special events for HFC endorsers Create and release promotional materials to obtain new endorsers

Timeline

Appendix A shows a Gantt chart of a one-year timeline. It is a visual representation of the data in appendix B which shows both the task times and costs. Notice that many of the tasks include overlap as they are not mutually exclusive. Also, notice the differences in length of the tasks. Facility research is an on-going task. On the other hand we have tasks that require less time such as quarterly shareholder and PETA meetings. These short tasks are represented with tiny bars to represent in some cases only one day out of the year.

Appendix A
11Feb 2Apr 22May11Jul 30Aug19Oct 8Dec 27Jan Researchandformulatepressrelease Emailemployeesandstakeholdersinformingthem ofsituaFonandoermeeFngstoanystakeholders MonitormediaoutletsformenFonsofthis incidence(NewHireneeded) Researchfacilityanimaltreatment ContactPETAandarrangemeeFng Conductimmediateemployeeinterviews Pressreleasepitch Conductfocusgroupsofpetowners DesignandreleaseofpromoFonalmaterialsfor retailers FirstquarterlyHFCshareholdermeeFng FirstquarterlyPETArepresentaFvemeeFng SecondquarterlyHFCshareholdermeeFng SecondquarterlyPETArepresentaFvemeeFng Conduct6MonthreviewofcurrentcommunicaFon inFaFveandmakeadjustments ThirdquarterlyHFCshareholdermeeFng ThirdquarterlyPETArepresentaFvemeeFng

Budget

Appendix B shows a zero-based budget for the year showing all of the incurred costs. The costs for each task are stated as well as the cost driver for each task. Notice that some costs are significantly higher than other with a new hire being necessary for constant monitoring of all media outlets pertaining to the incident. Refer to the section about the help needed for our communication program for more information on the job tasks and responsibilities that this individual will have. Many of the tasks are not high cost such as the many extra meetings that we will be having with stakeholders. This budget should contain a 15% buffer above the total cost of $49,700. This would mean a total budgeted cost including some possible increases of $57,155.

Evaluation

The evaluation methods of this campaign will be done to ensure all objectives were in fact met throughout the duration of the campaign year. HFC will make sure to complete the evaluation of the campaign in the most financially efficient way possible. While there is no one method of guaranteeing effectiveness of the campaign below are the ways in which HFC will evaluate the effectiveness or inadequacy of this campaign. Throughout the campaign HFC will employ a means of ongoing evaluation. Through this evaluation HFC will be able to fine-tune and adjust the campaign as new events, ideas, products or allegations occur. This section of evaluation will begin as soon as the press conference takes place in February and last the duration of the campaign. Every two weeks members of the crisis team assigned to this campaign will discuss the progress of the campaign. They will then meet with the CEO to discuss any changes or new additions that should be put in the campaign. Another evaluative method HFC will use during this campaign is summative evaluation. Members of the crisis team will ensure the achievement of HFCs measurable objectives by creating lists of all shareholders objectives, strategies and tactics. The following bullets are the ways in which HFC will use summative evaluation to measure the success of this campaign. Anecdotal evidence. HFC will use their relationships created within the media to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign. HFC will use informal interviews with reporters and interviewers to see if they believe the campaign was effectively executed and the correct measures have been taken to completely alleviate all allegations on HFC from PETA. HFC will use customer responses to make sure all customers are maintaining loyal to HFC through the times of allegations. We will do this by rebranding our packaging to

create promotional codes. Customers who purchase HFC products will be directed to the website to take a short survey where they will enter the promotional code. HFC will count how many times a story is run in any local and national news media sources for media impressions. Based on what information is being run about HFC will determine if our campaign was effective or ineffective. HFC will survey all employees and shareholders at the beginning and the end of the campaign to see if any person(s) ideas or views have changed about the company. HFC will take a look at the quantitative data to determine the success/failure of all goals and objectives. This will help to make sure all measurable objectives have been met and prove the financial success of the PR campaign. Finally, HFC will use a method of formal evaluation to list any problems or opportunities that we believe should be addressed in future campaigns. Those are listed below: Ensure a positive relationship with PETA Continue to inform the public on humane animal testing and HFCs future to maintain the well being of all animals used in research Promote HFC as not only an industry leader financially, but as an ethical role model for other research companies.

Additional Advice

There were many actions taken throughout this campaign that will contribute to HFCs ever-improving reputation among those in the scientific field and pet lovers alike. One important factor for management to keep in mind is that although the timeline for this campaign is only one year, it needs to be an ongoing process. The contacts made, relationships formed, and ideals promoted need to be maintained through proper PR upkeep. Ways in which to do this would include but not be limited to; continuing open and honest communication with all stakeholders/publics associated with HFC, a special consideration to maintaining and enriching the relationship between HFC and PETA, and acquiring new clientele who not only will benefit HFC financially, but whose mission aligns with that of HFC. It is of vital importance that HFC continues to build and improve its relationship with PETA. HFC has faced a dilemma of image restoration and should explore ways to turn the situation into a positive for the company. Many of our strategies and tactics focus on gaining new business, forming new relationships, and finding new and innovative ways to account for the safety of animals. These are only the beginning, and should be built upon in the future to secure HFC as an innovative and competitive industry leader. Through systematic and quality interactions with PETA, HFC will align themselves with the goals of PETA and in turn will be able to fulfill its own goals in a more efficient and authentic fashion.