The case study is about telynol case study of Johnson and Johnson. The case study explains how it overcame the tragedy and what were the strategies adopted by company to gain back the customers and their trust.

1. CASE STUDY
JOHNSON AND JOHNSON

2. 01 INTRODUCTION
02 BIRTH OF TELYNOL
03 ENCOUNTER OF THE ISSUE
04 STRATEGIES
Table of Content

3. ABSTRACT
The case gives an overview of the problems faced by J&J because of Tylenol. Tylenol
was the first acetaminophen-based analgesic to be sold as an OTC drug. The product
was promoted aggressively and had become a leader within a few years. In 1982, it
was found that Tylenol capsules were laced with Cyanide. This resulted in the death
of many people.
However, with the company's proactive and effective public relations program,
Tylenol regained its market share within six months. J&J again faced problems when
people died due to overdoses of Tylenol. This was mainly because the public as well
as the medical practitioners were not well informed about the product's side-effects.
The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:
Ethical issues involved in the overdose controversy and discuss the right approach to
resolving the crisis in right, proper and just way

4. Robert Wood Johnson (Robert) and his two
brothers formed a partnership firm to
nurture the idea of a practical application of
Lister's discoveries. Robert planned to enter
the surgical dressings industry with a new
type of readymade, sterile, wrapped and
sealed surgical dressing in individual
packages and suitable for instant use without
the risk of contamination.
In 1887, the trio converted the partnership
into a company and the company was
incorporated as Johnson & Johnson. Over
the years, J&J established itself as a leading
player in the healthcare industry.
J&J's marketing made Tylenol the
leader of the US analgesics market,
THE RISE OF TELYNOL
In 1956, Tylenol became a part of J&J, when
the company acquired McNeil Laboratories.
Tylenol was sold as an over-the-counter
(OTC)10 drug. During the 1960s, J&J
aggressively promoted Tylenol among
doctors and pharmacists as an alternative
pain reliever. Soon, the product became very
popular among consumers, as it was less
irritating to the stomach as compared to
other OTC analgesics11 like Aspirin or
Ibuprofen.

5. In September 1982, a 12-year-old girl, Mary Kellerman of Chicago, US died after taking extra strength Tylenol for headache.
Three more people, Adam Janus, his brother and sister-in-law died on the same day after taking extra strength Tylenol. Three more
deaths were reported on the next day due to Tylenol. The news of the incident spread quickly causing a nationwide panic.
Responding to the crisis, Johnson and Johnson (J&J)1 recalled 31 million bottles of extra strength Tylenol worth over $100 million
from all retail stores in the US.
In addition, the company offered to exchange tablets for capsules at no extra cost for all customers. According to an analyst, J&J
suffered a loss of $1.24 billion due to the depreciation of the company's brand value. Tylenol's share fell from 37% of the US
analgesics market in early 1982 to just 7% by late 1982. According to media reports, the sudden deaths occured because the
Tylenol capsules had been laced with cyanide. The capsules had been opened and filled with 65 mg of cyanide.
ENCOUNTER OF THE ISSUE

6. • The crises category in the Johnson & Johnson Tylenol case is Terrorism. The Tylenol product
tampering clearly fits the Terrorism category.
• Johnson & Johnson employed Forgiveness and Sympathy strategy for this crisis.
• Johnson & Johnson used Remediation and Rectification, both Forgiveness strategies, in the Tylenol
crisis.
• Remediation offers some form of compensation to help victims of the crisis. Johnson & Johnson
provided the victim's families counseling and financial assistance even though they were not
responsible for the product tampering. Negative feelings by the public against Johnson & Johnson
were lessoned as the media showed them take positive actions to help the victim's families (Berg,
1990).
• Rectification involves taking action to prevent a recurrence of the crisis in the future. Johnson &
Johnson's development of Triple sealed packaging is an example of rectification. They also
developed new random inspection procedures before the shipment of Tylenol to retailers (Berg,
1990).
• Sympathy strategy was a big component of Johnson & Johnson's crisis communication strategy.
Sympathy strategy wins support from the public by portraying the organization as the unfair victim
of an attack from an outside entity. Johnson & Johnson's willingness to accept losses by pulling the
Tylenol product developed sympathy with the public (Berg & Robb, 1992).
STRATEGIES

7. Thank You