Letter of the Day | Wisynco fiasco and the lesson learnt

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I would like to commend Wisynco for withdrawing the ill-conceived lawsuit against the Heart Foundation of Jamaica. At least the company has avoided an embarrassing showdown.

William Mahfood, the chairman of the company, was given bad advice, and the truth is, the issues were being played out for everyone to see. A visit to the Jamaica Stock Exchange website would show how investors were seeing the prospects of the company.

Wisynco has an opportunity to make it right. Notwithstanding that the lawsuit was withdrawn, the company still suffered massive reputational injury by choosing to go to the courts to settle the dispute in the first place.

My advice would be that the company starts a campaign of its own to reflect its commitment (if any) to a healthier Jamaica. Mind you, Wisynco is a very good company with very good products. So why not promote water some more and be a good corporate citizen?

We have not seen Wisynco follow in the footsteps of LASCO in cutting sugar content and offering less sweetened products to the consumers. That would go a far way in helping to put back the company on top.

The greater lesson

The lesson out of this entire fiasco for all corporate companies is that you never, ever, sue a non-governmental organisation (NGO). It does not work here and it works nowhere. Whatever issues one might have with the work of an NGO, it is always better to seek dialogue or run a counter campaign. NGOs are not perfect and neither are they infallible, but, there is a societal understanding that their work is for the greater good. And, when they are militantly attacked, the public sympathises.

To help in the recovery process, research has shown that for companies to fully recover, the best comebacks always involve content and engagement; to rebuild trust and to ease tension. One way to do this is a carefully considered content strategy which uses engaging and informative content to show transparency and authenticity, helping to return the company to a position of loyalty and trust.

So, kudos again, Wisynco, time to get back to work and see how best to help in developing a healthier society while still making huge profits. Who says both can't occur at the same time?

Dr Nathan Newman

Development Researcher

Lecturer, International Business