China Challenge
A salient challenge for global companies is to manage perceptions in foreign venues where the media may be hostile and governments unsupportive. When Energizer faced a serious problem in China, it responded shrewdly, aggressively and effectively.
PROBLEM
Energizer’s interests in the Far East were significantly threatened by totally inaccurate media interpretations of an IP ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
APPROACH
The task was to correct the record in a way that would ensure the revised story attracted more attention than the original without offending senior Chinese government officials. Key executives signed a letter averring that Chinese officials must have been surprised by the “errors” in the Western media, which was hand-delivered to key Beijing officials with a request that the government-controlled media highlight the true facts.
RESULTS
Within days, the Chinese government replaced the incorrect information on its global websites. They did so, with substantial and immediate impact as Energizer’s version soon dominated search engine rankings.
