Grand Prize

Mattel Recalls 2007- Communication Implications for Quality Control, Outsourcing and Consumer Relations

Submitted by Courtney Woo, M.A. in Mass Communication candidate, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Dougall

American toymaker Mattel's recent string of recalls provides a unique opportunity to explore corporate responses to a global crisis. This case study will consider how, when designing communications for product safety and quality control crises, communicators should be sensitive to contributing global issues such as outsourcing and international communication. For example, to avert future recalls, Mattel should work closely with Chinese suppliers and government agencies to implement realistic quality control solutions for which it can be held accountable. The company should reassure stakeholders that outsourcing to China does not mean sacrificing quality. Regaining consumer confidence and controlling the dissemination of product safety information requires strong corporate communicators who can delicately and deliberately balance a number of relationships.

This case study can be downloaded by clicking here.
A slide presentation can be downloaded by clicking here.
Teaching notes can be downloaded by clicking here.

JetBlue Airways: Regaining Altitude After the Valentine's Day Massacre of 2007

Submitted by Gregory G. Efthimiou, M.A. in Mass Communication candidate, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Dougall

Valentine's Day 2007 changed the course of history for JetBlue Airways. The upstart low-fare airline-which had enjoyed unprecedented acclaim from customers and industry observerssuddenly found itself in the midst of its first major operational catastrophe. A winter storm that enveloped the New York metropolitan region and Jetblue's hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport left hundreds of the company's passengers stranded in the terminal, and worse, in planes on the tarmac. The flight disruptions at JFK plunged JetBlue's entire operation into chaos, forcing the carrier to cancel more than one thousand flights over a six day period. This case study describes the corporate communications dilemma faced by JetBlue Airways in the wake of its 2007 winter storm-related crisis known as the "Valentine's Day Massacre."

This case study can be downloaded by clicking here.
A slide presentation can be downloaded by clicking here.
Teaching notes can be downloaded by clicking here.

Second Place, Communication Schools

Unilever's Dove and Axe: Examples of Hypocrisy or Good Marketing?

Submitted by Daniel O'Donnell, M.A. in Communication candidate, The University of Alabama, College of Communication and Information Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bruce Berger

Does a large company have an ethical responsibility to ensure the marketing messages used by its different brands do not conflict? If so, does this responsibility change if the messages utilize viral tactics and promote issues of social responsibility? To answer these questions, this case analyzes the controversy surrounding Unilever and two of its brands, Dove and Axe, examining whether critics are right to question the sincerity of Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty given Axe ads promulgate the very stereotypes it is working to eliminate.

This case study can be downloaded by clicking here.
A slide presentation can be downloaded by clicking here.
Teaching notes can be downloaded by clicking here.

Click here to download the Journal of the 2008 Case Study Competition.