Secret Recall and Too Many Public Recalls Prompt Cogressional Interrogation

I want to update you on the accusations that Johnson & Johnson conducted a secret recall in 2009. It turned out to be true. I wrote about the allegations on September 18, if you want more background. Not operating transparently -- going through a recall and bypassing proper procedures -- cost the company more in the long run and may cost it a lot more later. J&J should have known better. After all, it has issued nine recalls since September 2009.

Chief Executive William Weldon told members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform he was sorry his company had conducted the secret recall. J&J hired who-knows-how-many shoppers to go from store to store, buying all the defective Motrin on the shelves. Weldon testified that "the company 'made a mistake' in conducting the 'phantom recall,' one of many J&J problems that have drawn congressional scrutiny. At the same hearing, the FDA's deputy commissioner, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, said his agency should have acted sooner to halt J&J's plan. At the same time, he stressed that regulators were not aware of the deceptive nature of the recall." (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2013042420_congress01.html)

This was the second hearing about J&J's many recalls. The largest, 135 million bottles of infants' and children's Tylenol and other medicines, is what triggered this hearing. Problems with products "ranged from too much active ingredient to tiny shards of metal."

"We recognize that we need to do better, and we will work hard to restore the public's trust and faith in Johnson & Johnson," Weldon told lawmakers.

Therein lies the impact an ongoing crisis can have. The Tylenol recall in the '80s is still used as an example of how to communicate with the public to save trust in the brand to retain sales. What happened? Now the same company is conducting clandestine operations so no one will know that yet one more product is defective. I haven't heard a lot of news about all these recalls and the hearings. But all it takes is for an enterprising reporter to put all this together. If that happens, Tylenol sales will suffer, the company will lose revenue, and stock prices could drop.

J&J needs to be working right now (maybe it is) to plan a proactive communications program to ensure that people still trust and will buy Tylenol. Remember, transparency. The communications folks there should start by studying their own company's splendid job in the '80s, and then become that company again.