Cochineal, Communication and Smoldering PR Crises

This post originally appeared on PR News Online on May 17, 2012. See the original article here.

Starbucks recently came under fire after a woman in South Carolina collected 6,000 signatures on a Change.org online petition asking the company to stop using cochineal dye in its strawberry beverages. Although the customer was motivated by a desire to communicate broadly that the menu offerings weren’t vegan-friendly, her actions set off a chain reaction from Starbucks (including non-vegans) and public relations professionals. And though the issue of cochineal (pronounced “coach-in-EEL”) insects as a natural dye in food, cosmetics and paints only recently bubbled to the surface among the general public, it’s been a smoldering crisis for a number of years.

While not highly publicized within the mainstream media, the issue of cochineal in food and cosmetic products dates back to August 1998, when the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to mandate proper labeling, or prohibit the ingredient’s use altogether. In January 2006, the FDA announced plans to revise its requirements for the use of the insect-based colorant. As conversations about cochineal heated up, several companies were called out as having particularly high stakes in the issue, with a wide variety of products – from yogurt to juice – containing the ingredient. However, in 2006 the key players in the controversy adopted defensive attitudes almost immediately, and provided little to no access to information for concerned consumers.

Clearly, this crisis was building for some time. Though Starbucks has been hailed for its speedy response and taking decisive action in the face of a potential PR crisis, could the coffee giant have been better prepared to handle the media firestorm – or avoid it altogether? I believe so – and you simply have to look to several best practices for PR and crisis communication to learn how Starbucks could have better prepared, protected itself and prevented (or greatly reduced) any negative media attention:

                1. Anticipation is Key

It would have been in Starbucks’ best interest to monitor the issue when it initially appeared in the news, and select an alternative colorant to avoid playing any role in the controversy. That said, it’s possible the company, having used cochineal as a colorant for many years, feared risking consumer backlash if it admitted to including the insects in its products. In this digital age, however, with simple tools like Google Alerts at anyone’s fingertips, it’s hardly burdensome to monitor keywords, stories and other relevant news impacting your company and industry. 

2. Assess the Crisis

Though the company didn’t properly anticipate the crisis, Starbucks was somewhat nimble in analyzing it, coming to a company-wide consensus and sharing this decision broadly. On March 14, a blog post on the site This Dish is Veg discussed Starbucks’ Strawberry and Crème Frappucinos, highlighting the insect-based dye they include. The blog post called for signatures to the aforementioned Change.org petition, and stories began breaking at the end of March highlighting vegans’ displeasure at the offending menu items. Given the size of the coffee behemoth, it’s safe to assume executives were prepared with several of the other key principles of crisis management, such as having an established crisis communications team and measuring the impact of communication once the company offered an explanation.

3. Identify and Train Your Spokesperson

As mentioned above, soon after the crisis emerged, Starbucks was prepared to respond. Cliff Burrows, Starbucks U.S. president, first posted on the My Starbucks Idea blog about the cochineal extract – explaining what menu items include it and sharing that the company was looking into alternative natural ingredients to replace the base – on March 29. Then last week, he shared an update in an April 19 blog post with news that the company will be switching by the end of June from cochineal to a natural, tomato-based extract in its strawberry beverages, and also eliminate the insect colorant in various food items that had previously included cochineal. Given the fact that this crisis started online, was elevated through an online petition and became a hot topic on social media sites, it makes sense that the company would issue its statement in this same forum – and Burrows did so clearly, concisely and in a (relatively) timely manner.

4. Know Your Stakeholders

While the controversy was initially championed by vegans, it quickly spread widely to include Starbucks customers who don’t follow vegan diets, but found the idea of crushed bugs in their beverages and pastries unappetizing. If Starbucks had been monitoring the issue when it emerged, there’s the possibility the company would have been able to directly address Daelyn Fortney, the co-founder and managing director of This Dish is Veg and the author of the March 14 post that kicked off the crisis. And even if the media latched on to the story at that time, Starbucks would have likely been able to act even more quickly than it did – at the same time speaking primarily to the incensed vegans who spawned the crisis.

Having thrust the issue of cochineal in consumables and cosmetics into the mainstream media, Starbucks set an example for other cochineal-reliant companies to embrace transparency with their customers, and seek alternate methods of coloring their products. From a broader crisis communication perspective, while insects in consumer products may not be a concern for all companies, any industry with a complex supply chain could be at risk for a similar situation, and should look to and learn from this example as a cautionary tale. Ensuring the communication department has a seat at the management table, with access to the company’s ingredients and purchasing decisions, will allow this team to adequately plan, prepare and make recommendations to anticipate and avoid potential crises, or navigate them as nimbly as possible.

Margot MacKay is a PPRA member and public relations and social media account executive with Brownstein Group in Philadelphia. She tweets regularly about the PR industry, and can be reached at @msbruschetta or @margotdmackay.

2012 Hall of Fame Luncheon Honoring Mark Tarasiewicz

Monday, May 7, 2012
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Registration
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch and Program

Register Now Online for this event or download the Registration PDF

 On Monday, May 7, 2012 PPRA will induct Mark Tarasiewicz into the Philadelphia Public Relations Association Hall of Fame.

Please join us as we honor Mark at a special event you will not want to miss! 

About Mark Tarasiewicz:
Mark Tarasiewicz is Associate Executive Director of the 13,000-member Philadelphia Bar Association. He recently marked his 17th year with the Bar Association, the oldest association of lawyers in the United States. As director of communications, Mark is the primary point of contact for the news media and also directs the association’s award-winning print and electronic communication vehicles, including The Philadelphia Lawyer magazine. He also served as Senior Communications Manager for Dechert LLP, one of Philadelphia’s largest law firms. Prior to his public relations career, Mark was Managing Editor of the Pennsylvania Law Journal and a reporter for The Legal Intelligencer, the oldest law journal in the United States.

Mark served as President of PPRA in 2006-07 and Chair in 2007-08, and is a recipient of the association's Fast Track Award. He is an adjunct professor of public relations in the Temple University graduate program in Strategic Communication, and has also lectured for the Public Relations Society of America, the American Society of Association Executives, the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE), Penn State University, Villanova University and the University of the Arts.

A three-time recipient of the NABE Luminary Award, Mark is Treasurer of the association's Communications Section and volunteers his time to create education programs for his national legal public relations colleagues as a member of NABE's Program Committee. He has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations in the Philadelphia region, including the Young Advocates for Mural Arts and the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia.


Location:
Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia
One Logan Square
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-6933

Registration Fees:
$65 Member
$75 Non-Member
$650 Table of Ten

Deadline: Friday, April 27, 2012
Cancellations will be accepted in writing by May 4, 2012. No Refunds after May 4, 2012. No-shows will be billed.

From 'Jabberwocky' to 'tober'-mania, a case for only clever wordplay

By Bill Wedo

 

Good riddance to you, October.
A.k.a. Dog-tober. A.k.a. Pink-tober. A.k.a. Apple-tober.
Besides being the month for releasing formerly unmarketable movies and for watching teams not the Phillies in the World Series, October has become the nesting ground for that most annoying and inane of marketing efforts.

I speak, of course of the "-tober" craze.

What began as the charmingly simple rhyme/puns of Rock-tober and Shock-tober has morphed into a torrent of annoying, often nonsensical mutations of the word October.

There's Egg-tober—raising funds for gynecological cancers. There's Crop-tober—either a great time to be outdoors, or the chance to win a trip for two to Amsterdam for Cannabis Cup 2011. Your choice.

And let's not forget X-tober, a month-long celebration of "The X-Files." Forget the truth, it's the idiocy that's out there.

But the one that sends me screaming from the room is Subway's "Anytober" campaign. Could there be a more stupid marriage of words? Coupled with its cloying "five-dollar foot-long" ditty, your ears bleed along with your mind.

There's always someone to blame. In case of tobermania, I'm throwing it on FM radio marketers. And Lewis Carroll.

Believe it or not, as far back as 1980, two New York City stations were arguing over who could use the term "Rock-tober." Then in the 1984 horror movie "Rocktober Blood," a revenge-minded rock star rises from the dead to murder his band mates. Okay, maybe it's not all that clever, but at least Rock-tober rhymes with October, and since it's about rock music, it makes some kind of sense.

But why throw stones at Mr. Carroll? The creator of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" almost singlehandedly popularized the notion of nonsense literature, especially with his epic and delightful poem "Jabberwocky." In it, he combined words such as "chuckle" and "snort" to come up with one of my favorite words, "chortle."

To describe these creations, he co-opted the term portmanteau—two meanings packed into one word. In his day, a portmanteau was a suitcase, so the metaphor was perfect. Understand, when it came to words, this guy was a pro and could portmanteau with the best of them.

Even today, many portmanteaux are just fine. Take "Texarkana," the area on the border of Texas and Arkansas. I stopped for gas there once. Nice place. Or "spork," the delightfully whimsical eating utensil combining "spoon" and "fork." Or "jeggings" ("jeans" and "leggings," which my daughter claims are terrific). Though when it comes to Comcast ("communication" and "broadcast") or Verizon ("veritas" and "horizon"), I'm afraid any clever wordplay is overshadowed by the monthly bill. But, I digress.

The problem begins when the amateur wordsmiths step in, those with little talent–or common sense.

These people reasoned (I use the term loosely) that if "rock," "shock" and "Bach" were good -tober matches, then why stop there? I think they missed the "shoat" or "bohip" or something like that.

Portmenteaux should be labeled DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. OR AT AD AGENCIES.

Unfortunately the Subway campaign seems to be working. Forbes magazine reports that the

"Anytober" promotion helped push up Subway's BrandIndex metrics to yearly highs. I have no idea what that means. But if those scores bring back "Anytober," I will be frumious ("furious" and "fuming"). Thank you for that one, Mr. Carroll.

All this makes me think of poor Alice, who said:
"It all seems to fill my head with ideas–only I don't know exactly what they are."

And that will be the official motto next year when I proclaim Witless-tober.

See you then.

Bill Wedo is a recovering journalist and Communications Manager at Studio Incamminati, a school for contemporary realist art in Center City. This piece first appeared on WHYY NewsWorks, a great place for essays and opinion pieces.

Remembering PPRA's Nessa Forman

Nessa Forman and I were circus buddies.
Every year, when the circus came to town we were there. I'm not sure which one of us enjoyed the spectacle of the circus more but I do know that we were like a couple of kids as we sat in the audience and gazed on in amazement at the greatest show on earth.
And this year we enjoyed every moment of the show just like every other year. We enjoyed it just as Nessa always enjoyed every moment of her life, even as she was weakened by an insidious illness.
From the moment that I first arrived in Philadelphia (a long time ago) to practice public relations I heard about Nessa Forman. Nessa was an editor at the old Philadelphia Bulletin and she was known as a first rate journalist -- scrupulous, thorough, unflappable, but patient and caring as well. Though she worked right alongside the guys in the tough, deadline-driven world of a big city daily newspaper, Nessa never developed a hard edge. Yes, she was keenly aware of the human condition but, more often than not she merely smiled knowingly at the shortcomings of others just as she routinely poked fun at herself. She never became a cynic.
By the time I got to know Nessa as more than just an acquaintance she had very smoothly transitioned to the world of public relations and assumed the title of vice president of corporate communications and public affairs at WHYY Inc., Philadelphia's public broadcasting outlet.
I was president of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) in 2002 when Nessa was nominated for induction into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame. Nessa was so well-respected and had so many friends that she was voted into the Hall on the first ballot. Then, it was my job to call Nessa and give her the good news. We met for lunch to begin planning her Hall of Fame induction luncheon and that's when a beautiful friendship developed.
Over a period of nearly ten years Nessa and I grew closer. We exchanged stories, shared confidences and enjoyed many good times together. When I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, we became veritable partners. For many years the two of us co-chaired PPRA's annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I have to say that I never could have done the job without Nessa. She did most of the work. I was there just to be with Nessa.
Nessa wouldn't want to be called a pioneer but that's what she was - no question about it.
She was one of the first women to advance to a leading role in Philadelphia journalism and then became a model for all women professionals as a corporate executive. The words "worthy of emulation" were written to describe her. In 2005, the Philadelphia Business Journal named her a woman of distinction. She was all that and more. And she had all of the awards and honors to prove it.
But Nessa remembered the first rule for a good PR person: Have a passion for anonymity. She never, ever promoted herself. She was modest and unassuming. Though she was incredibly smart, quick and diligent, she also found the time to be kind and attentive. Consequently, she had many, many friends who were more than happy to sing her praises. And it's fair to say that in the tight knit world of Philly PR and journalism she was truly beloved.
Sometimes when Nessa and I were together I would vent all my frustrations and/or disappointment with one predicament or another or one personality or another. While never speaking ill of anyone, Nessa would simply laugh and redirect my energies toward more pleasant endeavors . She understood -- and she knew better.
Toward the end, Nessa managed her illness with grace, dignity and, yes -- courage. The closest she ever came to even talking about her predicament was confiding: "This is the hardest thing I've ever done."
Now it will be so hard for me to bid adieu to such a treasured friend. So hard.
And this is unfair -- not just to Nessa but to all of us who loved her and cared about her.
Still, we know we were lucky to call this gracious lady our friend. And, thanks to her, our hearts are full of so many happy memories -- so many cherished moments.

Dan Cirucci is one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field.  He is a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State Abington and a former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association. This piece was first published on his blog at www.dancirucci.com. 

PPRA Mourns Nessa Forman

This weekend, sadly, PPRA lost a long-time and beloved member of its family, Nessa Forman. Nessa was a PPRA Hall of Famer, but, more important, a mentor, colleague and good friend to so many of us.

After serving as arts and leisure editor of The Bulletin, Nessa began a quarter-century stint as a marketing executive at WHYY Inc. Upon her 2007 retirement from WHYY as vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, Nessa co-founded the multimedia company Worktheshow.com.

Nessa shaped and inspired many practitioners in Philadelphia through her commitment to professional development, her kind disposition, her trademark humor and her true graciousness. She will be missed.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News both included Nessa Forman's obituary.

PPRA Life Member Beverly Rehfeld Shares Advice

My professional career began in RCA Victor’s Record Advertising Department where I wrote copy for albums  “Little Nipper Albums.”  Though I enjoyed the assignment, I found myself drawn more and more to the field of public relations and how it could serve corporate management, government and consumers.

Early in my career, and sometimes even now, I was not necessarily in step with my colleagues about the meaning and scope of public relations practitioners.  At times we refer to our field  from the narrow perspective of  skills such as press releases, spin, special events and glitzy presentations.  All of this is necessary to expand communications and visibility with constituents at all levels but it is not the total picture.

I believe public relation practitioners need to  understand and question internal policy with regard to fulfilling the organizational mission.  The practitioner needs to become conversant with organizational minutes, rules and regulations and whether or not they are being followed. Is what we say what we do?   If not, what do we need to do? Do we plan for failure?  How do we ameliorate deteriorating situations? Is there conflict internally between departments/employees?  What do we do about complaints?  In short, these questions need to be a part of the PR practitioner’s role in serving as employee or consultant.

I attribute my professional and personal growth to Temple University’s Program for people with a handicap or disability.  I took my job at a time when people who appeared different from everyone else were hidden at home or institutionalized.  I had no previous experience with people with special needs.  Temple’s program brought me in touch with clients, staff, families and community members who served to increase my knowledge about the potential in all of people.

I count research and listening to others, as among the most crucial skills public relations practitioners need.  Before I moved to St. Louis, I found both at PPRA meetings. I still maintain my membership as it helps me stay current and keep up with many  friends from whom I learned the importance of compromise and team work.

The advice I would pass on to young professionals is always ask the question. Before you plan anything, use my PAM FORMULA (P=What is our purpose? A=Who is our audience? M=What is our message?)

This blog post was written by PPRA Life Member Beverly Rehfeld.