Taco Bell ran a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today and other papers that thanks law firm Beasley Allen for filing a class action lawsuit against the fast food chain. The suit claims their beef taco filling doesn’t actually contain all that much meat, and now Taco Bell is really, really excited about this opportunity to present the “truth about their seasoned beef.” (Note: they are probably not actually excited about this.) The ad goes on to detail the ingredients of the filling, which are “88% Beef and 12% Secret Recipe.” Check out the full ad below, as well as a video of Taco Bell
Case Study Presentation: Taco Bell
Assume the role of Taco Bell President Greg Creed and consider the appropriate response to the 2011 “Where’s the beef?” lawsuit.
Prepare a PowerPoint® presentation (in the role of Creed) that you will give to your communication team at Taco Bell to outline your vision for the company’s response to the lawsuit. Assume that the “Thank you for suing us” ad has not yet been released, but that it has been recommended by one of your trusted advisors.
Address the following in your presentation:
- Should the ad run? If so (or if not), how does that fit into your broader strategic goals for the response?
- Create alternative responses, weighing the pros and cons of various strategies. Consider the following:
- The purpose of the company response
- The intended audience
- The context and channel
- The broader goals of how Taco Bell should shape its public image and improve its trust with consumers
Prepare at least 8 slides (excluding the title and references slides) with detailed speaker notes of approximately 75 words per slide. Your speaker notes should reveal the reasoning behind your proposed strategy. You can find solution to this question here
Taco Bell
Thesis Statement: Whenever a company encounters a lawsuit, it is often normal and common for the management to feel angered and upset over the suit. However, the measures that the company management takes to solve the entire process and successfully avoid damaging the company’s reputation are significant and should be taken seriously and carefully. To ensure that the entire process succeeds, during the suit, it is important not to deny the suit but focus on winning the case and maintaining the reputation of the company by avoiding retaliatory gestures.
- Taco Bell and “Thank you for suing us” Ad
- Alternative responses One
- Alternative response Two
- Alternative response Three
- How to regain reputation in four significant steps (1)
- How to regain reputation step 2
- How to regain reputation step 3
- How to regain reputation step 4
president Greg Creed talking about the beef recipe.
