We love hearing about a good ethical crisis over here at PRSugar, as long as it’s not our client making the error in judgement (and as long as no one gets hurt). This is a good one as it involves not only crisis but CSR and booze.
Here’s the jist:
Who: Diageo, (the big guy) is the world’s largest distiller, with an impressive portfolio of brands including Smirnoff, Crown Royal, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray, Guinness, etc. Brewdog (the little guy) is a Scottish craft beer maker.
Where: BII Scotland’s 2012 Annual Awards Dinner (The British Institute of Innkeeping, BII, is a trade organization for the licensed retail profession).
What: Diageo (sponsor of the event) approached event organizers at the event and threatened to pull their sponsorship if Brewdog was given the coveted “Bar Operator of the Year” award. (Brewdog’s name was already on the trophy).
Communication: Brewdog took to its blog where you can see Diageo’s statement admitting guilt. You can find more quotes from a Diageo spokesperson on the Financial Times website. Let’s see how Diageo continues to handle this one.
This is a classic CSR case of a company saying “look at how much we give back to the community” and then taking an action that completely counters that mission. In this case, it’s Diageo saying “We are so nice and involved in our community. Look, we are sponsoring this awards dinner!” while they’re really scheming to fix the results.
Also, what do you think of Diageo’s strategy in blogging about the incident?
PR Sugar 