4460 Blog 2: ConAgra's big mistake

For this blog, I wanted to write about the recent ConAgra mistake. The story is here for those who don’t know about it. In this blog, I wanted to cover the PR aspects of this bait-and-switch crisis and, if I can, offer some solutions to rectify these mistakes. ConAgra is a processed food monopoly. They own, among other things, Banquet frozen meals, Hunt’s tomato products, and Marie Callendar’s frozen entrees and desserts.

The first PR mistake that ConAgra makes is a lack of foresight. Even first semester PR students are taught the value of knowing your audience. This can be done through focus groups or using demographics to select their unwitting eaters. Selecting bloggers is a great way to encourage word-of-mouth, but again, knowing the audience is crucial. A light sprinkling of foodies would have worked, but not a room full of organic eaters with dietary restrictions. ConAgra could have done their homework, but since the damage is done, the next step is a sincere and direct apology. They messed up, period, and they need to take responsibility for it.

The next mistake that was made involves the nature of the bait-and-switch. These people thought that they were attending a speech on food trends and then eating a delicious meal. They were questioned on their dietary restrictions, if any, but it doesn’t seem like a lot of them were listened to. These bloggers are foodies. They come in expecting quality and, instead of being pleasantly surprised at the reveal, they feel duped. It makes them understandably angry, and it fails the whole experiment. ConAgra could have gone with a different angle. They could have placed their frozen dinners inside a fancy restaurant as a replacement for lasagnas that were already ordered. It’s been done before, sure, but it works.

There is some to be said in ConAgra’s favor, however. They cancelled the final evening after the outcry began, and they have since apologized. It was a pretty large error on their part, and it’s even more egregious because it could have been fixed with a little foresight and thought. ConAgra forgot the number one rule of all PR pros: know your audience, and represent them to the best of your ability. In trying to push its products onto the wrong audience, ConAgra made themselves look like a company who doesn’t care enough about its publics to give them the appropriate food. In today’s world of blogging, word gets around fast and the internet’s memory is a long one. Any misstep can result in a tarnished public image and such a reputation can be almost impossible to shake.