CASE STUDY
NAVIGATING PR CRISES:THE CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILLE. COLI OUTBREAK
Please note that this campaign is for academic purposes only, created for a PR Cases and Campaigns course in the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University (December 2021).
In 1993, a small burrito shop opened up in Denver, Colorado and took the first step toward launching an empire. Chipotle Mexican Grill founder Steve Ells started his business as a short-term project to raise funds for his dream Michelin star restaurant, but 25 years later, Ells’s small burrito shop expanded to 2,300 locations worldwide. Today, Chipotle is the sixth largest fast-food chain in the world. Chipotle prides itself on its fresh, sustainable Mexican-inspired offerings, but in 2015, the face of Mexican fast-food faced a crisis that left 55 infected with E. coli. Apart from its lack of thorough, tailored and well-timed messaging, Chipotle’s actions exemplify corporate resilience and retention of public trust through public relations campaigns.
Situational Background and Timeline
Escherichia coli O26 (E. coli) infections are often linked to food contaminated by cattle's intestinal bacteria during the processing of ground beef. The bacteria also latch onto produce and unpasteurized dairy products. Human consumption of E. coli can cause a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection with symptoms, including diarrhea, bloody stool, abdominal cramps or kidney failure.
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October 2015: First reports of E. coli at Oregon and Washington locations
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November 2015: Shut down 43 West Coast restaurants after E. coli, norovirus and salmonella outbreaks; reopened restaurants after following food safety protocol and inconclusive bacterial tracing
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December 2015: More E. coli outbreaks in North Dakota, Kansas and Oklahoma; norovirus outbreak in MA
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February 2016: Outbreak officially over, 55 total infected by E. coli
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April 2017: Launch of "For Real" and "As Real As It Gets" campaigns
STRATEGIES
CUSTOMER GOODWILL
Chipotle has constantly worked to serve its customers. From its start, Chipotle has been concerned about morality. For that reason, the company has partnered with Niman Ranch, which raises pigs in the most ethical and sustainable way possible. The restaurant chain has committed to acquiring its ingredients without taking shortcuts, setting a strong reputational foundation from the onset of the E.coli outbreaks. Over the years, several corporate social responsibility actions the company took—both during and after the crisis—reinforced this sturdy reputation even further. Chipotle even donated $10 million toward its mission of rehabilitating its food safety to help small local farmers meet the new safety standards, which helped boost the company's reputation despite its own issues.
IMMEDIATE ACTION
Following the initial two outbreaks, Chipotle hired health officials to investigate the restaurant's link to the infection cases. The chain closed 43 stores to clean, locate and eliminate the source of the bacterial problem with the help of two safety firms. Chipotle also recalled nearly 170,000 pounds of meat and released a statement promising it would do better in its continued push of high quality food standards. Following the new food safety procedures, Chipotle now blanches its avocados, lemons, limes, and peppers even after washing them to try and make sure that the chance of a pathogen reaching the Chipotle service line is as close to zero as possible. Chipotle also retrained all of its employees on food safety and requires that employees take a quarterly food safety class.
"FOR REAL" CAMPAIGN
To launch its integrated marketing and communications campaign aimed at regaining customers' trust, Ells narrated a video posted on Chipotle's social media feeds, detailing a new food safety protocol. Chipotle launched the “For Real” campaign in April 2017, emphasizing fresh and real ingredients. The campaign marketed Chipotle's total of 51 ingredients devoid of unnatural products that customers would not find in their own kitchens. The marketing tactics provided both comedic and food safety-related relief.
Chipotle continued this thematic messaging around real food with its “As Real As It Gets” campaign, also in 2017, highlighting Chipotle’s mission of cultivating and serving clean food. The goal of the campaign was to demonstrate Chipotle's commitment to local and organically grown produce amid a culture of food shortcuts. Pushing forward, Chipotle aimed to prove how fast-food could be different with advertisements featuring highly regarded celebrities, like Sam Richardson, Jillian Bell and John Mulaney. Simultaneously, the company also released videos showcasing a transparent glimpse into the Chipotle kitchen.
OUTCOMES
MEDIA
Amid the E. coli outbreak, Chipotle appeared in dozens of headlines from major nationwide outlets to more niche trade publications. Even expert sources, like the FDA and CDC, reported on food-borne illnesses emerging out of Chipotle's menu offerings. Negative media attention began to circulate rumors about the bacterial contamination and brought Chipotle’s reputation into question. Though, other outlets followed the crisis through, making readers aware of when the restaurant was safe again. Major national news outlets acted as credible intervening publics and sources of information, opening up earned media opportunities for Chipotle to offer some voice of reason. In many cases, the media can be incriminating for nationwide business crises, but for Chipotle. the media served as an extension of its message about transparency and optimism.
CONSUMERS
Come 2015, Chipotle had lost much of its previously established credibility. As for consumers, a testimonial from Alec Fradkin, who was infected and hospitalized after consuming a meal from Chipotle contaminated with E. coli, reveals the quick retainment of consumer trust and the apathy of young publics. Fradkin decided to seek out a job at Chipotle and became confident in the restaurant's food safety.
INVESTORS
The fluctuation in the Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) stock illustrates the trust of shareholders. Prior to the outbreaks, the CMG stock spiked on August 2, 2015, with each share valued at $749.12 before beginning its steep decline that November, dropping to $413.19 per share by January 2016. The following year showed small peaks and valleys for the CMG stock, and it wasn’t until mid-2017 that the company entered a true financial recovery period. On May 7, 2017, CMG began its slow recuperation process toward a price of $489.33 per share. In an approximate four-year recovery phase through 2019, Chipotle employed strategies to drive recovery and introduce a soft rebrand. The business revenue increased by 10.4% to $1.23 billion, which allowed for $100 million to be put toward buying back shares and boosting Chipotle’s stock value.
"I was always addicted to their food, so I wanted to see how it was made and was curious about the restaurant behind the scenes. After seeing the new safety requirements, I can guarantee that the place has made the changes to prevent E. coli outbreaks from ever happening again.”
Alec Fradkin, infected by E. coli at Chipotle in Columbus, OH
RECOMMENDATIONS
OPTIMIZE EARNED MEDIA
Chipotle failed to capitalize on earned media to show their growth effectively. When communicating with its audiences, Chipotle utilized mostly paid media to interact with its customers and owned media to connect with consumers, journalists and shareholders alike. Generally, earned media opportunities arose when news outlets approached the Chipotle C-suite for statements in response to their breaking news stories on the outbreaks. This model of leveraging earned media demonstrated the company’s defense strategy, and Chipotle missed opportunities to reclaim the narrative with a proactive approach to earned media.
TAILOR MESSAGES
The “For Real” campaign succeeded in retaining Chipotle's consumer base, but shareholders' concerns differ from that of a customer. It took 18 months for the stock price to come back, demonstrating Chipotle’s ineffective messaging toward investors. While still empowering its customer base, Chipotle should have also helped investors project their financial future. Investors care about the bottom line: money. Thus, Chipotle would have faced a more effective stock recovery if it had tailored a message specifically to its investors.
QUICKER CAMPAIGN ROLLOUT
Chipotle should have facilitated a more rapid response to address its constituents. Chipotle made strides in improving its food safety process, but apart from unstructured owned media announcements, it had nearly no messaging to show for it until launching the "For Real" campaign in April 2017. The process of communicating the new protocol was evidently flawed. Crisis management call for thoroughness coupled with speed. Thus, 18 months is objectively far too long for the initiation of Chipotle’s messaging.