1. STEPS TAKEN BY
PEPSI & COCO -
COLA TO
COUNTER
NEGATIVE
PUBLICITY
Bony Joseph
S2 MBA
ROLL NO. 10
2. NEGATIVE PUBLICITY
• Negative publicity is a deliberate attempt to manage
the public's perception of a subject with an intention
to demote it to an extent that it arouse public interest
in it.
• It is the adverse publicity that a firm may incur due to
a particular reason, which may lead to potentially
disastrous consequences.
• It results in the firm’s reputation among its customers
and competitors being badly tarnished.
3. EFFECTS
• Business does not flourish under negative publicity.
• Firms may have to call back all their products.
• Shares of the firm may take a frightening dip.
• Lead to the firm having to shell out millions as
compensation, and the venture might even go bust.
4. How do you counter it?
• Golden rule is- Don’t Panic!
• Look into the problem
• Work out a plan of counter attack
• Follow up progress continually
• Give out concrete proofs of safe-practices
5.
6. History
• Coca-Cola was founded in May 1886 by Dr. John Pemberton
•Coca-Cola was first sold to the public in Atlanta at Jacob’s
Pharmacy
•Only 9 servings of the soft drink were sold each day
Sales for the first year were only $50
• In 1888 Asa Griggs Candler bought the company and sales
increased over 4000%
7. • Until 1905, the drink was marketed as
a tonic containing cocaine
• This stopped the advertisement of
Coca-Cola as being a cure for headaches
and other illnesses
10. Sponsorships
• Art of Harmony
•Boys and Girls Club of America
• Children’s Miracle Network
• FIFA
• NASCAR
• Olympics
• Special Olympics
• Tiger Woods Foundation
11. Promotions
• Diet Coke Movie Mania Give away
-win a trip to the Sundance Film
Festival
• American Music Awards
12. NEGATIVE PUBLICITY-COKE
•In 2003, it was revealed that several midlevel
employees had rigged a marketing test for
Frozen Coke done three years earlier at Burger
King Restaurants in Virginia.
•The scandal led to the departure of the head of
Coke's fountain division, and the company
issued an apology to Burger King and its
franchisees and offered to pay them US$21
million.
13. •In the early 2004, the launch of the Dasani
brand into the European market was cancelled
when bottles in Britain were found to contain
elevated levels of bromate, a substance that
can cause cancer after long-term exposure.
•In India, during September 2006, Coca-Cola
was accused by the Center for Science and
Environment (CSE) of selling products
containing pesticide residues.
•Coca-Cola products sold in and around the
Indian national capital region contained a
hazardous pesticide residue.
14. •These pesticides included chemicals which
could cause cancers, damage the nervous and
reproductive systems and reduce bone mineral
density.
•Besides, Coca-Cola’s products are always
labeled as “junk food”. People criticize Coca-
Cola’s beverage contain too much sugar and
high is calories. It is labeled as one of the
important factors of causing serious obesity
rate in developed countries.
•Such negative publicity could adversely
impact the company’s brand image and the
demand for Coca-Cola products. This could
also have an adverse impact on the company’s
growth prospects in the international markets.
15.
16. History• The Pepsi Cola Company began
in 1898, but it only became
known as PepsiCo when it
merged with Fruto lay in 1965.
• Tropicana was acquired in
1998 and PepsiCo merged with
Quaker Oats and Gatorade in
2001.
• PepsiCo’s snack food
operations (Frito Lay….) had
their start in 1932.
• PepsiCo began its international
snack food operations in 1966.
• Until 1997 , it owned Taco Bell,
Pizza Hut, KFC.
18. NEGATIVE PUBLICITY-PEPSI
• Cases being filed against Pepsi that there was
syringes, needles, pins, screws, a crack cocaine vial,
and even a bullet have been found in Diet Pepsi cans
• “In one week’s time, more than 50 incidents had been
reported to the police, the FDA or the media”.
19. • Pepsi was not sure of why these incidents were being
reported. Pepsi had to research on why these claims were
being made against their company.
• Pepsi was going to defend their company and not recall any
of their products. Pepsi wanted to show the country that
there was no possible way that these objects could end up
in their products at the different factories.
20. Ways to Handle Negative Publicity
1. Confront the source.
2. Make amends.
3. Acknowledge mistakes.
4. Enlist supporters to speak on your behalf.
