I'm glad they chose not to ignore their poor choice.

I've already been avoiding quaker for a while (don't trust them). I never did go back to groupon, even if they had a killer deal. I hold grudges.

Quote from: guess on December 25, 2014, 01:45:40 AM
Noting Quaker Canada's page advert for Peanut Free Chewy Granola Bars.  Merely expanding that from Canada to US market would be a huge difference for many.

QuoteAll Quaker Chewy Granola Bars are made in a peanut free facility – making them a smart and tasty snack for your kids.

That really would be a nice way for them to "make it up to us".  It would be a start.

Noting Quaker Canada's page advert for Peanut Free Chewy Granola Bars.  Merely expanding that from Canada to US market would be a huge difference for many.

QuoteAll Quaker Chewy Granola Bars are made in a peanut free facility – making them a smart and tasty snack for your kids.

Quote from: Macabre on December 24, 2014, 08:36:50 PM
Great idea guess I'm putting up info about their communications folks.

I'd go with Smith she seems the more long term employee and has a open source contact page through Facebook. 

Hopefully, though there'd be some some sort of suggested guide on how to contact her etiquette-wise.  She probably has no idea what's transpired, and most likely had she been part of the active chain of review would never have signed off on it. She's an MBA from a good school her attentiveness to brand strength, equity and loyalty is going to be top notch.

Having said that, unfortunately the buck does stop with her on the chewy category of Quaker brand under Global Nutrition so she does need to be part of notification in a healthy chain of command to do her job properly.  Me personally, I don't seek apologies, assurances or engage in boycotts in real life or in social media, so I don't think my parameters work for most people... but, I think in the simplest business terms there's arbitrage here.

A nice recovery for them would be to open their market here to cut out the middle man reselling their peanut allergy friendly bars.  As the product managers seem to have global positions for their category I would think it an absolutely fair proposition for any consumer to question the North American division between chewy granola bars in USA and Canada, and even pointing to the stark difference in approach between the two Facebook pages.

NAFTA should be duty free since it's a product of Canada (even if made of parts origin elsewhere by formula), rebrand for the American market, charge a premium, cut out the middle man, save face, increase market share to compete with boutique "free of" alternatives.  They get increased brand loyalty, sales.  Happy happy, joy joy.

JMO.

Agree-- this is more than many similar organizations have done in the past.  In other words, they did more than just shrug-- or worse yet, laugh.

Here's detail on the Groupon thing.


Re: Deal of the Day - Spread the News

Their response is soooo much better/more than Groupon's. Last night I couldn't find their response to the treehouse thing, but it was thumbing their nose at us. Blatantly so. And when I called them to talk with them, I got laughed at. I cancelled my org's  plan to do a race registration promotion. We serve adukts with intellectual disabilities. Our CEO was happy to not use them after seeing how jerky they were toward people with disabilities.

Quaker responded quickly. They owned it and they apologized.  It could have been stronger, but it was more than I thought they'd do.

Great idea guess I'm putting up info about their communications folks.

One more reason for Quaker brand (parent company Pepsico) to terminate its relationship with Buzzfeed Quaker Chewy page with f-bomb.

Picture #1 with the cute puppy? Read the lulzworthy caption.

NSFW [spoiler]

QuoteQuaker Chewy
Brand Publisher
1. Because of all the snow.
Do kids like anything better than stepping into a freshly fallen pile of snow? Well, maybe making an excellent snowman. DREAM COME TRUE.
Via fuckyeah-cuteanimals.tumblr.com

[/spoiler]

I grabbed it as is in a screen capture.

Two names for brand management: Heather Holtsberg Smith and Lindsay Levin.  They should be handling consumer insights.  The best direct way would be LinkedIn mail but that costs quite a bit annually.  Editing to add a Facebook link.

Quaker PepsiCo marketers discuss consumer insights, brand engagement
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/40under40-2013_bio#Holtsberg-Smith

or Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/heather.holtsbergsmith

The only sincere gesture is a sizable, transparent donation to food allergy research with an established, credible organization coupled with a move towards more transparent labeling and offering their Canadian line with the peanut free logo to US consumers.  Start there, implement with fidelity.  I don't need an apology, I want action, movement with purpose.

Clearly, Quaker already has the facilities and marketing support for a line of products for peanut allergic consumers as we US segment spend a higher amount of money to buy them via third party.  Some genius at Quaker* instead of capitalizing on this (hint: ethnograpic study of this subgroup) to facilitate a market share increase by covering BOTH parties, instead delved into personal issues.  Bring your peanut free Canadian Quaker bars to the US market with pride, offer them as a solution for when the kid with the peanut allergy comes over.  That would increase your sales, Quaker USA.

For contrast look at the Quaker Canada page which has its products with a peanut free logo front and center on the Facebook page.

Quaker Canada Facebook

Just sell them here in USA.  Sell solutions.



*brand, not to be confused with manufacturer or parent company.  Brand is the name, all that is put into the name, idea of the product, its equity, strength in the mind of its consumers.

So-so as far as apologies go, IMO.  They did not try to deflect blame, or act like it wasn't their fault. So that part is to their credit.  But on the other hand, it also sounds very half-hearted, like they are just saying what they should to get out if trouble, not like they gave it much consideration or really care.

They've apologized. :-)

This is a crime triangle.  It's one entry in the discipline of crime theory that shows elements required in order for a crime to be committed*.

1. suitable targets
2. motivated offenders
3. lack of capable guardians

Really, you can apply this to disability harassment.  Advocacy and disciplinary action can curb the behavior when it becomes too 'expensive' during cognitive risk assessment making the potential pay off of the decision not worth the punishment.

Side note: I'd be peeved if I was the woman in the photo not knowing how my image was going to be used in a perverted twist of privilege display and disability shaming.

* This is not to mean that Quaker has engaged in criminal behavior.  This is my discipline therefore I use theories from my discipline in other areas that are sociology related.

I also cannot see the post when I go to their fb page, but if I go through my own page, comments, I can see all of it.