Crisis Communications Plan
Situation and Assessment
In the past few years there have been many instances of restaurants serving vegan food that was not entirely vegan. Whether it was beans cooked with bacon or salad dressing with traces of fish oil, these crises have become more prevalent.
This crisis communications plan is in the probable case that a particular food being sold at Costco as “vegan” is found to be not one hundred percent animal free. In the case of Costco the food would be from Costco’s “own-brand”, or private label Kirkland Signature.
The topic of vegan free food being sold under false pretenses is a touchy subject, the vegan community is outspoken about these incidents. It is critical that Costco addresses the issue immediately and proactively rather than being retroactive.
Crisis Communication Team
The crisis communication team will be composed of several key employees. Costco has an extensive team of marketing employees, from two vice presidents of Marketing down to general marketing staff. The crisis communication team and their roles will include:
One vice president of marketing – this person will be the primary spokesperson for Costco in the case of this particular vegan crisis. The VP of marketing oversees the Crisis Communications Plan and makes sure that things run smoothly.
One assistant vice president corporate marketing – this person will be a secondary spokesperson. The assistant VP of corporate marketing is in charge of delegating responsibilities to other staff members, and this person directly interacts with the media.
The director of marketing – this person is a third spokesperson and assists the VP with media relations.
One corporate marketing manager – this person helps the assistant VP of marketing oversee the responsibilities of the other staff members. This person should be able to answer any questions from lower staff members without having to get upper management involved.
Two marketing coordinators – these marketing coordinators
In the past few years there have been many instances of restaurants serving vegan food that was not entirely vegan. Whether it was beans cooked with bacon or salad dressing with traces of fish oil, these crises have become more prevalent.
This crisis communications plan is in the probable case that a particular food being sold at Costco as “vegan” is found to be not one hundred percent animal free. In the case of Costco the food would be from Costco’s “own-brand”, or private label Kirkland Signature.
The topic of vegan free food being sold under false pretenses is a touchy subject, the vegan community is outspoken about these incidents. It is critical that Costco addresses the issue immediately and proactively rather than being retroactive.
Crisis Communication Team
The crisis communication team will be composed of several key employees. Costco has an extensive team of marketing employees, from two vice presidents of Marketing down to general marketing staff. The crisis communication team and their roles will include:
One vice president of marketing – this person will be the primary spokesperson for Costco in the case of this particular vegan crisis. The VP of marketing oversees the Crisis Communications Plan and makes sure that things run smoothly.
One assistant vice president corporate marketing – this person will be a secondary spokesperson. The assistant VP of corporate marketing is in charge of delegating responsibilities to other staff members, and this person directly interacts with the media.
The director of marketing – this person is a third spokesperson and assists the VP with media relations.
One corporate marketing manager – this person helps the assistant VP of marketing oversee the responsibilities of the other staff members. This person should be able to answer any questions from lower staff members without having to get upper management involved.
Two marketing coordinators – these marketing coordinators