CASE STUDY

TOY STORY
2

1 Business writer Watts Wacker famously said: ‘A brand is a promise’. What do you think he
meant? Think of some well-known brands. What ‘promises’ are they making?

2 There are many ways customers can lose confidence in a company. Which of the following
customer concerns about a product do you think could most seriously affect a business?
Discuss with a partner.
The product is found to be …
defective   ​environmentally unfriendly   ​overpriced   ​
unethically produced   ​unreliable   ​
unsafe   ​

3 Look at the homepage of the Thompson Toys corporate website. What kind of image is the
company presenting? What message is it trying to communicate about its brand and its values?

Thompson Toys Inc. Toys you can trust

About us | Our products | Online store | Customer service | Investors & media | Careers | Contact us

Thompson in the news Thompson sponsors annual creative child awards

 Thompson posts record
third quarter results
 $5 million donation to
UNICEF Africa project
 My Little Puppy No.1 toy
this Christmas
Do you have a little Einstein or Leonardo? Nominate your
child for a creative award and you could win $3,000 of
Thompson toys and games!
Click here for details
Corp. Magazine
100 best
companies
to work for

Search

In Company 3.0 Intermediate © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014 TOY STORY 1

 CASE STUDY

4 CS3 Fiona Sheridan, vice-president of Asian Operations for Thompson, is flying

to a meeting in Shanghai when she receives an unexpected phone call from the safety lab
in Shenzhen. Listen to the call and answer the questions.
a What customer complaints has the company received over the last few weeks?
b What are the results of the tests lab director, Michael Fu, has been running?
c How many toys may be affected?
d What is Fiona planning to do as soon as she touches down in Shanghai?

5 Two days later, Simon Anderson, head of public relations, flies out from head office
in Philadelphia to join Fiona for a second meeting with the Chinese plant owner in
Hangzhou. Look at the cross-cultural comparison of North American and Chinese
behaviour in meetings. With a partner, try to predict some of the communication
problems they may face.
Prime objective: Business USA China Relationship
Directness: Direct USA China Indirect
Formality: Informal USA China Formal
Commitment: Contractual USA China Personal

6 CS4 Now listen to an extract from the meeting in Hangzhou. How would you
describe the atmosphere?

7 What is the probable cause of the problems? Whose fault do you think it is?
8 Do you agree with Fiona’s decision? Do you think relations will be damaged with
the Chinese?

9 Read the headlines that filled the international press in the weeks after Fiona Sheridan
ordered the product recall. How has the situation worsened?

Toxic scare: 1.5m toys Concerned parents boycott Thompson Toys Inquiry into
removed from shelves throughout USA safety standards
at Thompson’s
My Little Poisonous Puppy? Who’s to blame? Chinese factories

Thompson toys in crisis in Thompson share TOYING WITH OUR CHILDREN’S

run-up to Christmas price falls by 39% HEALTH: ANOTHER PRODUCT
RECALL AT THOMPSON TOYS

10 CS5 Listen to Fiona Sheridan phoning Thompson’s CEO, Daniel Cleveland, about
the last headline above. What’s the latest news? Take notes.

• Product recall of 18 million units

announced this morning
• Defective magnets possibly due to design fault
• Similar problem in 2005 led to
3 million products being withdrawn
from sale.
• Chinese manufacturers accusing Thompson of
overreacting and damaging their reputation
• Questions being raised about working
conditions in Asian plants and Thompson’s
profit margins. Possible global
ban on the sale of Thompson Toys
pending investigations.

Thompson CEO Daniel J Cleveland

In Company 3.0 Intermediate © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014 TOY STORY 2

 CASE STUDY

11 Work in small teams. You are Thompson’s PR department and have been instructed by your
boss, Simon Anderson, to write a one-minute personal statement from the CEO to be filmed
and posted on the customer service page of Thompson’s website. The CEO’s message should
sound apologetic, but confident, and reassure parents that the company has withdrawn all
unsafe products from sale and is thoroughly investigating the cause of the problems.

12 As the situation worsens, your PR team decides to hold an international press conference
in New York to reinforce its message that the company has everything under control and that
customers have no cause for alarm. Work together to predict the kind of questions you may be
asked by members of the press and how you will answer them.

Press conference tips

• maintain a friendly atmosphere – smile and use the questioner’s name
• create rapport with the questioner – you’re a parent too, share their concerns, etc.
• try to sound apologetic but confident
• be totally clear in your explanations
• do not speculate about anything you cannot answer
• do not react to hostile questions in a hostile way
• try to rephrase negative questions in a more positive way
• don’t get angry if you have to repeat yourself
• make sure you say what you came to say, regardless of the questions you’re asked
• thank your audience for attending at the end

13 CS6 Listen to the questions from the press one by one and decide which
Useful phrases
member of your team will deal with them. Don’t be too surprised if you get a few Welcome question
questions you weren’t expecting! The phrases on the right may help you to answer
I’m glad you raised that point.
confidently and diplomatically.
I’m happy to answer that one.
Defer answer
Can we get back to you on that?
I’m afraid we don’t have the
answer to that yet.
Decline to answer
We’re not in a position to
comment on that.
Sorry, I’m not prepared to
answer that at the moment.

In Company 3.0 Intermediate © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2014 TOY STORY 3