Jacinta Hawkins

Brand sickness and health following major product withdrawals

Purpose – The mandatory withdrawal of almost 2,000 complementary and alternative medicines, manufactured under contract on behalf of multiple brand names, primarily in the Australian and New Zealand markets, provides an opportunity to examine the impact on sales levels and both brand and category loyalty of a major product confidence crisis. Sets out to deal with this issueDesign/methodology/approach – Focuses on the impact of the events surrounding the recall within both the Australian and New Zealand markets and links the events surrounding the recall with the scant international literature relating to brand management during crisis situations. Then reports on findings from an investigation of New Zealand consumer perceptions of the sector after the recall event.Findings – The substantial impact on both category and brand loyalty in the face of prolonged non‐availability of some products is revealed, as is the lack of contingency planning across product supply and marketing communications dimensions. Co...

Evidence of IMC in social marketing

– The purpose of this paper is to argue that integrated marketing communications (IMC) must be used in social marketing, like it is in commercial marketing, by illustrating that IMC principles are effective in social marketing contexts within an education setting. Specifically, the paper provides evidence of IMC being successfully used in the communication of school‐based health promotion activities within health promoting schools (HPS)., – Depth interviews with principals and teachers at three case schools were conducted to investigate the communication of health promotion programmes within HPS. In total, 19 people participated in this study., – A key finding was that IMC principles are evident in the HPS philosophy of health promotion. That is, the extent to which health concepts are customer focused and integrated into school life; and, communication which is synergistic and based on stakeholder needs, has a significant impact upon achieving desired health promotion outcomes., – This research explored communication within the specific context of HPS. To further explore the application of IMC in social marketing, the authors recommend that other social marketing contexts or cases be investigated., – The fact that IMC principles are relevant and effective when facilitating school‐based health promotion programmes implies that IMC would offer value to other social marketing contexts too., – The paper is unique in that we provide evidence of IMC used in a school‐based social marketing context. The context of an education setting for this research broadens existing understanding of how IMC can and should be used in social marketing. The research offers insights for social marketing practitioners seeking to improve their communications efforts.

Product Withdrawal Pandemonium: Marketing Communication Implications from the Pan Pharmaceuticals Product Withdrawals

Medicines, in their various forms, are an important part of daily life and health for many consumers across diverse cultures. However, beliefs and trust inherent in treatment are - at best - poorly understood. Major dislocation of trust occurs when the media report medical scandals, or when there are major health scares such as product contamination and mandatory product recalls. Notably, this area has not been extensively researched, with the exception being the 1982 Tylenol poisoning crisis in America (see, for example, Pearson and Clair, 1998). The mid-2003 government-ordered withdrawal of almost 2,000 complementary and alternative medicines, across multiple brand names in the Australian and New Zealand markets provides an opportunity to examine the impact on both the wide complementary and alternative medicines category and on brand sales and brand equity issues for both affected and unaffected brands. We focus on the impact of these events within the New Zealand market, and link the events surrounding the recall with the somewhat scant crisis management literature, and report on consumer perceptions of the sector six months after the recall event. We then offer conclusions and recommendations for the management of such events across national boundaries in the future.