Jc penney’s hitler teapot debacle

About JC Penny, What went wrong, How a matter of personal perception turned into a social media crisis, JC penny's approach throughout the crisis management, Moral of the case

1. JC PENNEY’S HITLER TEAPOT DEBACLE RISHITI RAO ( 16531022) NIRMAL SUTHAR (16531035) SHIVANGI THAKKAR (16531014) SIDDHI MODI (16531003) MANSI JARIWALA (16531006)

2. JC PENNEY A retail store headquartered at Plano, Texas. Established on April 14, 1902, by James Cash Penney. The company has been an internet retailer since 1998 with streamlined catalog and distribution. Products include Clothing, Cosmetics, Electronics, Footwear, Furniture, Jewellery and HOME APPLIANCES .

3. WHAT WENT WRONG…??? On 28 th May, 2013 there was a bit controversy over JC Penney ad, displayed on Interstate 405, nr. Culver City, California.

4. This ad got a lot of attention as people noticed that the kettle bore an odd resemblance to the leader of the Third Reich.

5. THE CRISIS STATEMENT JC PENNEY’S HITLER TEAPOT DEBACLE

6. HOW A MATTER OF PERSONAL PERCEPTION TURNED INTO A SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS…??

7. HOW DID JC PENNEY RESPOND..??

8. JC PENNEY’S APPROACH THROUGHOUT THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT JC Penney decided to solve the issue through social media as it was the route of cause . JC Penney was wise to not take the situation too seriously , though they knew that it still needed to be responded to . Their strategy was to develop a response tweet and use it to respond to everyone mentioning the teapot in relation to Adolf Hitler.

9. @ jcpenney responded to hundreds of tweets about the evil teapot with a standard, light-hearted message. Still at press time, the company din’t respond to an e-mail and calls for comment.

10. THE OUTCOME… The whole debacle turned out to be a pretty good thing for JC Penney. The teapot sold like gangbusters…… 1600 teapots in one week !!! Some entrepreneurs who got the teapots and saw an opportunity had taken to eBay to sell them. “Looks like Hitler”, said one seller who priced the available kettles @ $249.99. “Impossible to find.” Others on sale had bids of $41 and $76 by the night of 5 th June, 2013.

11. OUR TAKE ON THIS CRISIS How much responsibility did JC Penney hold? JC Penney had no intention of commissioning a product that resembled Adolf Hitler. It was a bizarre coincidence. In this crisis, it would clearly seem that it would fall into the accidental cluster of SCCT (Situational crisis communication theory).

12. JC Penney recognized this, and decided to responded to the situation aptly. They employed the SCCT crisis response strategy of diminish , but not with an excuse or justification . Instead they used humor and misdirection to highlight the ridiculousness of the situation. By treating the situation lightly it allowed the affected stakeholders to realize the silliness of the circumstance.

13. MORAL OF THE CASE… A small issue like this could quickly turn into a social media PR crisis if handled improperly. Be sensitive to the power of social. Address even small complaints from your fans or others with grace and good. Tell it ALL….Tell it FAST….Tell the TRUTH !!

14. THANK YOU