Crisis Scenarios
You are the in-house general counsel of The Tick-Tock Watch Company. The company has just brought out an illumination product called EverGlo that is the first of its kind in the market. Simply touch the watch and the watch face glows. EverGlo was launched just in time for Christmas, 2006. It is projected to represent 20 percent of Tick-Tock’s total global revenue in 2007, and likely more in the coming years.
Last week, Tick-Tock’s environmental compliance officer informed the general counsel that a routine check of the company’s Peoria headquarters, where the watches are manufactured, revealed an abnormal concentration of CS-511, a low-level toxin. A residue of CS-511 was used in an industrial cleaning solvent by Tick-Tock three decades ago.
As the low levels of toxin were found on the edge of the Tick-Tock property – a sprawling suburban landscape of a few hundred acres – the toxin may not be present as a result of Tick-Tock’s use. The neighboring community has been there as long as the Tick-Tock headquarters and CS-511 had been commonly found in some household cleaning products years ago.
Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois EPA have been notified, with the state agency taking the lead in the investigation. The regulators are not interested in divulging information to the press and they appreciate Tick-Tock’s assiduous self-reporting of the matter. Unfortunately, the press has picked up the rumors anyway.
The press is also well aware of how, 60 years ago, radium had been used in the manufacture of watch dials, which allowed them to be read in the dark. As a result of the radium, a number of Tick-Tock’s employees (mainly female) developed tongue cancer from licking the brushes to make the tips fine enough for painting dials. It became an industry-wide problem but, as one of the largest watch dial manufacturers in the United States, Tick-Tock is the company remembered for it.
A few minutes ago, Tick-Tock’s in-house press officer, who only handles product public relations, informed you that the local daily newspaper called for a statement. It was the lead business reporter who usually gets his stories on the front page of the paper. Worse, his stories, when they include national angles, are occasionally picked up by the wire services and run in major dailies around the country.
If the story goes on for too many days, calls are likely to come in from other major newspapers in the state as Tick-Tock is one of the largest employers in the Peoria region.
Local coverage is likely to be fair, but nonetheless critical. The more negative, the more likely the story will get picked up by other papers. Restricting the story to local coverage would be considered a victory, since it would then be less likely to have much, if any, impact on Tick-Tock.
No prepared statement is ready. The Peoria reporter is expecting a call back from a Tick-Tock spokesperson within three hours. As GC, you call your outside counsel. After a discussion of the legal issues, you ask for media advice.
- Does the company return the reporter’s call?
- If so, who should the spokesperson be?
- What should the focus of the conversation be?
- Are there any ground rules you want to set?
- Should you prepare a statement?
- What should the statement say?
- Do you acknowledge responsibility?
- What should your overall media strategy be?
- What questions should you ask?
Once you have answered these questions, prepare for the actual live interview.
Stop the Presses
