Most brand and marketing managers will be prepared for a product recall at some time. But few, I suggest, would be prepared for an onslaught from two young secondary school science students which would end up costing the brand millions and a huge loss of market share.
It happened to GlaxoSmithKline in New Zealand in 2004. The two students set out to test the claim on Ribena’s ready to drink product that states ‘The blackcurrents in Ribena contain four times the vitamin C in oranges”. The students approached the company with their findings. The company’s response to the students was that “It was the blackcurrents that had it (Vitamin C).” This semantic response prompted the students to go to the media, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Commerce Commission. The company was brought to court and pleaded guilty to 15 charges of breaching fair trading laws. The result, loads of negative publicity, a damaged reputation, a drop in sales and a spend of over NZ$1m in fines and on advertising to seek to rectify the damage.

This case study is just one of many in the latest edition of Risk Issues and Crisis Management, subtitled A casebook of Best Practice by Michael Regester & Judy Larkin. (Kogan PagePaperback 245 pages Stg£17.99. ISBN 978-0-7494-5107-3)

The authors say of the Ribena issue, “In our opinion GlaxoSmithKline’s court case appears to have effectively destroyed 70 years’ worth of consumer trust in its Ribena product overnight.”

This book is not only an excellent textbook for management, marketing and public relations professionals but it is a good read. It provides a comprehensive analysis of how to manage situations that may turn into crises and discusses how to handle the issue or crisis that may occur. It is a well-chosen mixture of theory and practice woven together in a most readable way. You know when reading it that the authors have a deep understanding of all the issues involved. This is the fourth edition completely revamped in 2008. The fact that the first edition was published in 1997 shows how popular the authors are among those who practice and study crisis management.

PR practitioners involved in high risk sectors such as transport and energy, will be well aware of the need for robust crisis plans which are tested and continuously updated. They will probably be well acquainted with the best practice in crisis planning and management.

Even if you are not involved in a large enterprise nor have to prepare for a gigantic crisis you should read this book. Because the reality is that every business and organisation is susceptible to having to face a crisis at some time. As Regester/Larkin point out, a crisis may have nothing to do directly with your business, but you could be in its path.

This is perfectly demonstrated by a case study on the largest fire in peacetime Europe which happened in 2005 at Hemel Hemstead in the UK. A series of explosions set off a fire which took 150 fire fighters over two days to extinguish.

The authors look at the companies, large and small, who were based in Hemel Hempstead. The large companies, such as retailers Dixon, PC World and Marks & Spencer all came through the incident because they had comprehensive insurance that offset financial losses from work disruption and their detailed business Continuity Plans included an alternative operating location. Smaller companies in the area struggled to survive and some didn’t. They were forced to close, sell or merge largely say the authors because, “they operated from a single site, had little scope to avoid the cost increases,relied on key individuals and relied on local markets.”

Michael Regester, one of the authors of this book began his involvement in crisis management in 1979 when as the public affairs manager of the Gulf Oil Corporation, EMEA he had to handle the communication aspect of one of the oil industry’s worst disaster, the explosion at Bantry Bay in West Cork.

It is sobering to think that the explosion and resulting fire claimed the lives of 50 people. Only 27 bodies were recovered. A further fatality occurred during the salvage operation with the loss of a Dutch diver.

The disaster, occurred on 8 January 1979, at around 1am, when the oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded at the offshore jetty of the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal. It attracted the world’s media attention at the time and brought Michael Regester to Ireland. The Irish PR person involved working alongside Michael was John McMahon, who was one of the earliest PR consultants to develop an expertise in crisis communications.

I had the pleasure of hearing Michael Regester at first hand back in the early 1990s when he came to Dublin to speak at a Conference on Crisis Management organised by Walsh Public Relations and the Sunday Business Post. He was considered an expert in crisis management then. He has strengthened that reputation in the intervening years. I have no doubt that he and his co- author Judy Larkin will produce even more new editions of this essential addition to the library of anyone with an interest in the subject.

 Published in Marketing magazine February 2011