How do some companies regain public trust after something goes seriously wrong, while others fail? A look at how Tylenol responded after someone spiked its pills with poison in the 1980s sheds some light.
When companies lose the public’s trust – whether it’s Facebook selling user data or United Airlines mistreating passengers – PR specialists scramble to head off a crisis. That strategy gained a foothold in 1982, when a mysterious killer spiked Tylenol with cyanide. Savvy PR decisions are credited with saving the company. So why do today’s corporate leaders have so much trouble learning how to respond?