Marketing mojo rebuilds confidence in Maple Leaf Foods after Listeria deaths
An article on how Maple Leaf Foods recovered from a devastating Listeria outbreak in 2008 with the help of the right marketing whiz:
Graham, formerly CMO at Rogers Communications, started working with Maple Leaf Foods as a consultant following a listeria outbreak in 2008 that killed 22 people and prompted massive product recalls.
That same year, the company posted a third-quarter loss of $12.9 million. In the fourth quarter, Maple Leaf said the recall cost the company an estimated $59 million to $69 million before taxes and profits were down 40%.
The company also had a dramatic fall in the Marketing/Leger Corporate Reputations ranking—which asks consumers if they have a good or bad opinion of the company—dropping from 21 to 76 in 2009 and a further 10 spots in 2010.
