Coca-Cola Belgian Crisis: Dill Saves the Day
SUMMER, 1999
Dill hears that there is a severe problem going on in Belgium with Coca-Cola. He tells Susan that they will soon find out if they are on Coca-Cola’s A-Team. That evening Dill and Susan got their answer, an email came to Dill from Tom Long, “where the hell are you, we have a problem in Belgium. Please call.” On that call Tom explained that there had been a complete recall of all Coca-Cola beverages in Belgium, and Charlie Frenette, the CMO, was heading to Brussels to set up a war room and personally lead the re-launch. They wanted Dill and Susan there immediately. There was one slight problem. They were getting married on the 26th. They were married and on 27 June, flew to Brussels landing on the morning of 28 June and heading straight to Coca-Cola headquarters to begin the incredible job of re-launching the entire portfolio of beverages. It was 18 hours a day for the next 42 days. It was an honor to be on that team.
Charlie instructed Dill to get out into the country and talk to as many accounts and consumers as possible and each day at 17h00 Dill would report his learnings. There were several teams reporting in each evening, Advertising, Public Relations, Bottling, Distribution, and Dill’s human touch. The first thing Dill would need was a taxi driver who spoke English and would work 18 hours a day. So, the first night after dinner Dill walked out to the taxi stand in front of the rail station and hollers “does anyone of you speak English?” A man in a beat-up Mercedes hollers “me Bathman I do.” Dill mistakenly heard Batman and hollered back, “I am Robin”, and a friend was made. These two crisscrossed Belgium for 42 days listening to the stories of customers and consumers. Dill was apologizing for the past and promising a bright new friendlier Coca-Cola in the very near future.
The 17h00 War Room meetings were difficult as Dill had to report the absolute truth with total POISE. Its customers or its consumers did not respect The Coca-Cola Company like it is accustomed to in most of the world. Their broken promises to retailers and a general arrogance that needed to be fixed were some of the issues at hand. Dill reported the good news that the clear majority was ready to work with the Company to turn things around and to do it quickly. There are many detailed reports on what Coca-Cola did to win the day. Dill and Susan were fortunate to be part of working with the team on the experiential marketing programs. Dill had a young Coca-Cola executive from Belgium named Peter Schelstraete whom he worked with, they created a new refreshing humble Coke attitude in the streets. Dill and Peter along with several agencies trained thousands of Belgium youth to sample ice cold Cokes to the entire country and say we are sorry and thank you for your continued support in the future. As always Dill had a few tricks up his sleeves…he brought over a Gibson custom Contour Coca-Cola Bottle guitar, he built four Coca-Cola Harley-Davidsons, and the team created a game where you blind folded the contestant and had them reach into a large bucket and pull out the contour Coca-Cola bottle. They travelled the country making new friends and reacquainting themselves with their old ones. It was a magical Summer to be in Belgium. Someday, Dill will share some of the crazy stories with Batman at the wheel in the middle of the night racing back to Brussels from the opposite side of the country at 02h00!
Every night!
The wildest day was a Saturday in July 1999. It was the re-launch day. Dill and Charlie Frenette arose early to be at the biggest customer in the country to be there before opening. As Dill walked down the beverage isle, his worst nightmare stared him in the face. One-liter Coca-Cola bottles were leaking! Dill and Charlie quickly got the product off the floor and replaced with back up stock. Immediately Charlie says...” Dill get Susan and Batman...we need to get to the plant”. Batman sped as if he was driving the Bat Mobile and upon arrival, the team found the plant closed...we were told it was running 24/7...it was not a good day for several people. The great news of the day was that there were no mishaps except the one Dill found before opening...Boom! Coca-Cola made friends and today they sell more product than pre-Crisis.
Dill always tells people the key learning in Belgium was quite simple, be humble, and always remember the customer is always right. As author David Salyers would say, Be Remarkable. Sort out how you are going to add value to everything you touch.