Overcoming an Activist-Led Pressure Campaign
Helping a major U.S. health retailer respond to false accusations and misinformation spread by a known activist
The opportunity
A major health retail chain faced strong, largely inaccurate accusations about their business practices from a known activist with questionable motives. The activist’s campaign against the company included the release of damaging reports about their business operations and products as well as public protests and legal filings. The campaign led to negative media reports, government hearings, and other investigations. After conducting our own due diligence, including in-depth interviews with the retailer and its outside counsel, we uncovered that nearly all the claims were unfounded and chose to support the company through the attack.
The Client
-
Major U.S. health retailer
Their Communities
-
Employees
-
Customers
What we did
-
Identified and helped the client address the few instances where its operations and practices needed fixes or other improvements
-
Launched a strategic communications effort to promote these improvements, push back against false accusations, correct misinformation, and highlight the motives of the activist behind the coalition
-
Engaged directly with community leaders to communicate our client’s story, respond to questions and concerns, and forge and strengthen partnerships
-
Activated new and existing partners to weigh in publicly on the retailer’s behalf
Win-Win
In addition to neutralizing the pressure campaign, our involvement led to critical improvements to our client’s business operations, benefiting both their consumers and employees for the long-term. We also established social impact partnerships that provide transformational and much needed support to underserved urban communities throughout the U.S.