5 crisis lessons from Crock-Pot and ‘This Is Us’
When the popular TV show sent simmering viewers flocking to Twitter to bemoan a fictional appliance malfunction, here’s how the manufacturer responded. Spoilers ahead.
At the end of season two, episode 13, we finally get a glimpse of how Jack dies. The Crock-Pot, or more accurately a slow cooker, catches on fire—and the internet is freaking out.
For the past week, Crock-Pot has been working day and night to reframe the conversation, protect its brand, do some serious damage control and throw in some humor at the same time.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has not recorded any injuries or fatalities due to faulty slow cookers, but that hasn’t stopped the whole world from blaming Crock-Pot for killing their favorite TV dad.
An issue versus a crisis
The difference between an issue and a crisis is the latter affects stock price, revenue or reputation in a way that’s hard to come back from.
What makes something an issue, only:
What defines a crisis:
As people took to Twitter to knock the brand, its stock plummeted and it begged for “This Is Us” to help properly educate fans.
In a statement they released the very next day, it asked for help in spreading the truth about the product’s safety:
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