Mattel Media Coverage Remains Focused on Chinese Manufacturing Concerns Despite Admission
Lead Paint Hazard Mentioned Twice as Often As Product Design Issues, Signifying Continued Interest in Chinese Manufacturing Processe
SAN MATEO, Calif. — November 19, 2007 — Biz360® Inc., the leading provider of
media and market
intelligence solutions,
today released
an analysis of
Mattel's product
recall news coverage,
which represented
71 percent of Mattel's
total media coverage
to-date in 2007.
According to Mattel,
the company has
recalled a total
of 19.6 million
toys worldwide
either due to magnets
which could become
loose or impermissible
levels of lead
in paint.
The
top five Mattel
brands cited in
recall-related
media coverage
since August 1,
2007 include
the following:
Fisher-Price,
Barbie, Elmo, Big
Bird
and Polly Pockets.
Lead paint was
mentioned twice
as often as loose
magnets as a
cause for public
concern
even though both
problems resulted
in product recalls
and 89% of Mattel's
total recalled
products were
related to the
magnet issue.
The higher interest
in lead paint
comes at a time
when
public interest
in Chinese product
safety is at
an all time high.
In the wake of
several other
U.S.
product recalls
of Chinese-made
goods, such as
toothpaste containing
anti-freeze and
pet food laced
with unsafe chemicals,
China responded
to the Mattel
recalls by calling
into
question Mattel's
product design.
Despite China's
efforts, the
product design
problems
message has only
appeared in a
small fraction
— six
percent — of
media articles
covering
Mattel's product
recalls.
Finger
pointing and
additional recalls
dominated
Mattel's media
coverage in the
first half of
September, representing
89
percent of Mattel's
total coverage.
On September
21, 2007, Mattel
issued
a public statement
clarifying that
"the magnet related
recalls were
due to emerging
issues
concerning design
and this had
nothing to do with
whether
the toys were
manufactured in
China." In the
six weeks since
the statement,
Mattel's average
weekly coverage
has dropped 76
percent compared
to the three
weeks prior "In
corporate
crisis situations,
disagreement
over facts and
uncertainty
around the solution
to the problem
often lead to
continued media
coverage,"
said Tony Priore,
chief marketing
officer of Biz360.
"Mattel's unexpected
clarification
significantly
quelled the media's
ongoing coverage
of the recalls.
For marketing
and communications
executives, measuring
the severity
of important
issues in the
media and the
impact of corporate
messages can
reveal how effective
corporate positioning
is and help them
better protect
their corporate
reputation in
the future,"
he said.
About Biz360, Inc.
Biz360 delivers media and market intelligence solutions to Global 2000 business
decision makers, providing them with a 360-degree view of their
marketplace. The company gathers and analyzes the vast amount
of traditional and social media about an organization, its brands,
its competitors and its products to deliver real-time insights
that help our clients shape market perception, respond to competitive
threats, evaluate trends and issues and improve the return on
their marketing investments.
Our clients include industry-leading, global
companies, such as AAA, Aetna, AstraZeneca and Sun Microsystems.
Biz360 can be reached at 866.424.9360 or www.biz360.com.
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