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The headquarters of Papa John's Pizza located on their campus corportae, Tuesday, July 17, 2018, in Louisville, Ky. (Photo AP / Timothy D. Easley) (Photo: Timothy D. Easley, AP)
Papa John stumbled by responding to the mistakes of founder John Schnatter and may have to consider more dramatic remedies, including changing his name or even selling the business, say experts in crisis management and public relations
He said that the board of directors of Papa John should have been more aggressive and even sanctioned Schnatter by removing him some $ 1.6 Million
Managing a Crisis: Papa John Should Take Record of the Errors of Others
Case Studies: ]] ValuJet, Denny took different paths
He and other brand management experts say John Johns erred:
►Wait two days to respond to the crisis, Christal Johnson , assistant professor of public relations in Syracuse ►New Schoolhouse d e public communications from the university, called "an example of crisis communication gone awry."
►Have to immediately contact African-American leaders, including former black franchisees like former star Jamal Mashburn the University of Kentucky and the NBA.
► Refusing to accept responsibility for the use of the word N by Schnatter during a training session.
Deb Gabor, the founder and CEO of Sol Marketing, based in Austin, Texas, said that by issuing an open letter last week, saying that Daddy John's "is not an individual "but rather" a pizza company with 120,000 members of the team ", the company did not recognize that he was the face of the company for 34 years. "Last week was the toughest week of my 22 years at Papa John's," he said, "impacting leaders, rather than customers and the public" Johnson said. "rebuild trust through action". We have begun a comprehensive review of our culture and will do everything necessary to ensure an inclusive, fair and respectful workplace.
The University of Louisville stated that she would withdraw the dad. John's name is from his football stadium, and that he will rename the John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise to his business college. (July 13)
AP
An Extra-Crunchy Company
Schnatter's comments cost the company dozens of professional sports sponsorship, but its distance travel the week last allowed to recover two teams. The Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners have reinstated Papa John's promotions, citing Schnatter's ouster as chairman of the board.
Papa John's still a long way to go to restore his crisp reputation
that "everyone knew that Papa John should one day apologize in public – we just thought it would be for his pizza ", while the satirical site The Onion announced that the company had unveiled plans for" excessive force ".
Bowling Green franchisee Patrick Gaunce, who once owned 150 restaurants and now owns seven, said that Schnatter's remarks have set the company back 10 to 15 years.
Patrick Gaunce, a franchisee of Papa John (Photo: Provided by Patrick Gaunce)
"I think our brand was slaughtered", did -he says. "I have people of all nationalities who call me saying," I love your pizza but I would not order it now. "
Papa John has long recognized that a faux pas of the famous Schnatter – or his death – was the largest one said a former leader who is legally forbidden to criticize him publicly." In a strangely prescient statement, the company, which has 120,000 employees and 5,097 stores, including its franchise restaurants, said in a recent filing of the Securities and Exchange Commission that this company had no plans to deal with this eventuality. " failing to manage incidents that undermine consumer trust or confidence, especially if these incidents receive considerable publicity … our brand value and financial results could be affected. "
Some crisis management experts have Congratulated Papa John's Schnatter himself.Bryan Reber, Professor of Public Relations at the Terry College of Business of the University of Georgia, stated that the company had been resolute in canceling its sublease of office space at the company's headquarters and expelling it from Papa John's Boulevard in Southeast Louisville.
But Reber said that it would be difficult to keep the former CEO "They have a huge challenge of toxicity because Schnatter is tied to this brand … like a dough on a pizza, "said Schiffer, whose firm represents celebrities and executives around the world.
Gaunce, who has been scrambling with Schnatter for years, said the company should repurchase the shares of the founder – he owns more than $ 500 million in shares – to make him leave the board of directors. ;administration.
Gaunce said:
He and others say that the board of directors of Papa John could also solve the crisis of his brand by selling the company, which was already under discussion before the remarks of Schnatter. it landed in the hot water. Such a decision would likely result in the loss of Louisville's head office
Papa John dropped to a record high of $ 86.98 per share. December 2016 at 51.52 at the close of business Friday
A new name, better profits?
If customers stay away from Papa John 's long term, it may need to consider changing their name, says Catherine Dunkin She taught at the Olin Business School' s. University of Washington at St. Louis
. She said it would be expensive to build a new brand – and that it's too early to predict if such a drastic change The company is the third largest pizza chain in the world, does not locating that as a result of Pizza Hut and Domino, according to the commercial publication Pizza Today.
Related: John Schnatter's ascent and fa ll: His mouth was his worst enemy
More Coverage: John Schnatter says that he should not have resigned from Papa John's
But other companies, beset by irreconcilable public relations disorders, have decided that the Only solution was to change their name. These include the private security firm Blackwater, now known as Xe, and ValuJet, now Airtran Airways
Gaunce said he heard the idea of "floating" name change and that she should stay on the table. The relationship counselors advised Papa John to remain discreet. As Deanna Tomaselli of Havas PR North America wrote on her blog, "PRetty in Pittsburgh," the company should "be quiet and make pizzas." She said everything she's doing now, like raising awareness or donating to a cause "I look quite obvious (like)" they're trying to put lipstick on a pig. ""
But others say that there is much more that Papa John can and must do.] Schiffer stated that the company should have immediately launched a "brand new look" erasing the omnipresent face of the founder "so that the public can see, not be told, that it is a new company."
"They must show the Henry Boyd III, diversity specialist and marketing professor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, said that John Papa & # 39; It should hire black store managers and executives.
Andrew Gilman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CommCore Consulting Group, a Washington-based public relations firm, said the company must invest time and effort in m
History Continues Under the Gallery
ErikBernstein, Vice President of Bernstein Crisis Management Los Angeles, said that even though Papa John's problems were coming from the top, the company would still benefit from the closure of its stores for a day of training on racial bias, as did Starbuck in May . where two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia store after a director asked them to leave because they had not bought anything.
"The closure of Starbucks was beautiful because it served a real purpose – providing important training – and also because it created a public relations wave that allowed everyone to speak. of what was being done, "he said.
Ellis Verdi, co-founder of DeVito / Verdi, an advertising and public relations firm in New York Papa John needs to launch a small advertising campaign in New York recognizing that there was a problem and saying what is done to fix it
"They need that, then they make more pepperoni pizzas." Audit
In addition send letters to customers and investors, Papa John's announced that a special committee of his board would oversee an external audit and survey to review the company's processes, policies and systems regarding the diversity and inclusion, and the culture of Papa Joh n ", that Forbes described last week as toxic and invaded by sexual harassment.
The company said Friday that executives are already meeting with "leaders, franchisees, employees and customers in our communities – we can do things better." We have a lot to do, but this company is committed to doing things correctly. "
According to the records: " John Papa " Schnatter recovers his beloved Camaro 1971
] See also : The family of Colonel Sanders calls "Papa" John a "nosy" on scandal N-word [19659014] Branding experts say that society faces a Herculean task because Schnatter was his face for so long. While you can pull a founder, you can not pull his mark – and Schnatter was the mark, they say. Schnatter's wife, Annette, is also a franchisee.
Using a CEO as a spokesperson has its advantages. Unlike an actor or an athlete, they are available at no extra cost and tend to be more believable.
CEOs as pitchmen were common in the 1980s and 1990s, thanks to the success of Frank Perdue, the avid chicken salesman of his company. , and Dave Thomas, Wendy's CEO.
But spokespersons for the CEO can also be a responsibility. They may die, like Thomas, be sent to prison, like Martha Stewart, or use a racial insult during a workout on how to avoid PR fiascos, such as Schnatter.
"They Need Them, Pepperoni Pizzas."
Ellis Verdi
The loss of a spokesperson can be difficult, as Men's Wearhouse discovered in 2013 when he fired CEO George Zimmer, who for 30 years played in promising commercials "you will love him as you look, I guarantee him." The company was having problems before ousting Zimmer, and he n & # 39; Has not recovered since; Schnatter, who had previously filed suit for the brand by complaining about Obamacare, reportedly added 14 cents to the price of a pizza and floundering in the debate over protests from the NFL players.
Gaunce, the franchisee, said that it was time to move on.
"I've respected his tenacity in building the business, but he thinks he can act and do what he wants because he's John Schnatter," he said. Gaunce: "At this point, the key is to take everything away from John."
Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; [email protected]; Twitter: @adwolfson Support a strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/andreww.
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