Case Study: Coca-Cola PR Crisis Management

Communications experts praise Coca-Cola’s recent response to criticisms as an example of first-class corporate crisis management. Specifically, they point to The Wall Street Journal op-ed by Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent.

The company came under a storm of criticism after The New York Times charged that Coca-Cola was funding obesity research that attempted to disprove the link between obesity and diet and shift the problem to lack of exercise. The article says Coca-Cola, desperate to halt sliding sales, financed the new nonprofit Global Energy Balance Network. Critics call it a front group created to espouse misinformation and deflect the role of soft drinks in the spread of obesity and Type 2 diabetes

Corporations under fire can look to Kent’s op-ed for guidance when responding to attacks and considering apologies.

Kent outlines the company’s response and admits the company’s misstep while not exactly apologizing in his op-ed, Coca-Cola: We’ll Do Better. In a matter-of-fact tone, Kent takes the accusations head on, acknowledging the accusations that it has deceived the public about its support for scientific research. He defends the company by saying it is attempting to tackle the global obesity epidemic and has always had good intentions.

A New Strategy

Kent also admits the company’s strategy “is not working.” “I am disappointed that some actions we have taken to fund scientific research and health and well-being programs have served only to create more confusion and mistrust,” he writes.

He explains how the company will act going forward. First, he says it will act with even more transparency. The company will publish a list of health and well-being partnerships and research activities it has funded in the past five years on its website and will update the list every six months.

The company will continue its efforts to provide healthy options, he says, such as waters, lower-calorie and lower-sugar drinks, diet soda and zero-calorie drinks. At the same time, he inserts a sales plug by referring to Coca-Cola’s wide range of beverage options.

The op-ed stresses the company’s commitment to fighting obesity. “We want to get focused on real change, and we have a great opportunity ahead of us,” he says. “We are determined to get this right.”

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The Three O’s

Mark Braykovich, vice president at Atlanta-based The Wilbert Group, says Kent successfully filled the three O’s of crisis management:

Own up to it. Assuming responsibility at some level usually helps the corporate reputation over the long run.

Get the CEO Out front. The CEO is the best spokesperson for the corporation. Most PR disasters happen when companies shield the CEO, or the CEO appears to have little interest in the problem.

Make an Outsized response. Overaction is preferable to small measures or ignoring the critics. Kent directs the president of Coca-Cola North America to create an oversight committee of independent experts to provide governance on company investments in academic research, and engage experts to explore opportunities for research and health initiatives.

Braykovich says he gives Kent an A for using the three O’s.

Bottom Line: Coca-Cola’s response to accusations that it financed a front group to protect its interests at the expense of public health is a case study in PR crisis management. The op-ed by Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent epitomizes a corporate response that contains the essential elements of effective corporate PR crisis management.

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