no. 1-1028
Adolph Coors Company (B)
The following is the complete transcript of a speech given by Shirley Richard, director of
corporate communications, at the International Association of Business Communicators
annual conference on May 12, 1983.
Introduction
The winds of change are blowing, and as we progress into the information age, investigative
journalism is something which will affect all of us—either as consumers, members of special
interest groups, business persons, or members of the general public. Organizations—and
especially businesses—will be forced in the years ahead to deal with investigative reporters
in an open and forthright manner.
Adolph Coors Company, the nation’s sixth largest brewer, has changed its news media
policy from being a “no comment” company to a company with an open door policy. The
purpose of this address is to discuss a case history involving Coors and “60 Minutes.”
There are certain ways you know when it’s a bad day….One of these is when “60 Minutes”
calls.
Identification of the Problem/Opportunity
Since 1977 Coors had been the victim of a vicious labor-related boycott designed by AFL-
CIO officials to put Coors out of business.
Mike Wallace has gained a reputation as television’s major exponent of adversary journalism
and had been accused on occasion of not reporting all the facts (particularly with regard to
business). There was concern about the news angle “60 Minutes” could take because Coors
had a reputation for being a conservative company that took controversial political stances.
In addition, Joe Coors for many years had been a supporter of Ronald Reagan and was a
member of Reagan’s “kitchen cabinet.” Because of the unemployment situation in America,
Reagan’s policies were being seriously questioned. Joe Coors was also reported to have been
responsible for the appointments of controversial James Watt (former Secretary of the
Interior) and Anne Gorsuch (former EPA administrator). Furthermore, Coors required a
preemployment polygraph of all employees, which was an emotional issue with many
segments of the general public.
Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
Awareness levels about boycott issues were low in states where Coors was not sold (thirty
states). Since Coors was considering a major expansion into the Southeast, there was a risk
of raising awareness about negative corporate issues
The AFL-CIO boycott against Coors appeared to be working. Awareness levels of boycott-
related issues throughout the marketing area were high. Formal research performed in 1981
showed that Coors’s corporate image had slipped badly. A comprehensive public relations
program was in effect to combat the problem, but progress being made to change attitudes
was slow.
If “60 Minutes” decided to do a feature about Coors, it could be disastrous for Coors not to
participate.
After considering the facts, Joe and Bill Coors made a decision to open Coors’s doors to “60
Minutes” and conduct an interview with Mike Wallace.
Planning for the Interview
Target Audience:
Primary Beer consumers, potential beer consumers, and opinion leaders with neutral
or slightly negative attitudes toward Coors who would comprise a portion of
the “60 Minutes” audience of twenty-plus million households.
Secondary Employees and independent Coors distributors.
Objectives:
Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
We established some message objectives which were based upon overall corporate
objectives and identification of image problems in the market. These are extremely
important in any interview situation. These are key points we would make if we had free air
time. This is the heart of dealing successfully with investigative reporters. The message
objectives we established were:
Plan Elements:
• Make sure certain officers were adequately prepared prior to the Wallace interview.
Budget:
We established a budget which was spent primarily for professional telecommunications
training. Establishing a budget is essential for all PR programs.
Execution (by the Corporate Communications Department):
Preparation
Requested a letter from Mike Wallace stating the subject matter of his investigation.
To properly prepare for any investigative reporter, you should know as much about the
program and its host as possible. To prepare for Mike Wallace’s visit to Coors, we
learned as much about “60 Minutes” as we could. The success of “60 Minutes” is
attributed to its investigative portions and especially the hard-hitting, inquisitorial
approach of Mike Wallace, who has been with the show since its debut on the CBS
network in the fall of 1968. The show reaches approximately forty million Americans
each week.
Allan Maraynes was the producer for the Coors investigation. According to Palmer
Williams who recently retired after thirty-one years with CBS—the last fourteen as
deputy to Don Hewitt—the founding father and executive producer of “60 Minutes”:
Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
their correspondents over the head all year long. Good camera crews and
good editors improve pieces, but it is the producer who does the donkey
work at every level, and it’s his neck that’s out. If his case—and that includes
his big-name correspondent—doesn’t perform up to expectations, it’s a blot
on the producer.”
Obtained tapes of recent speeches and information about David Sickler, the AFL-CIO
official who headed the Coors boycott.
Researched and gathered all facts surrounding every issue which could be brought up by
Mike Wallace.
Obtained permission from Mike Wallace for the Coors Television Department to film all
aspects of the “60 Minutes” visit to Coors. It’s good to have a record of questions asked and
responses.
Prepared Bill and Joe Coors for the Mike Wallace interview with professional spokes-
manship training using actual reporters. These techniques would apply to any interview
situation for any company.
• Reviewed message objectives and explained technique of bridging from Mike Wallace’s
questions to positive points about the company. (Emphasize that audience will not see
actual bridging of message objectives during the “60 Minutes” film they will see because
of editing. Explain that the message objectives were communicated through-out the
entire “60 Minutes” investigation, including when we transmitted all information to
producer in response to his requests.) Example of bridging: Mike: “Joe Coors, you
give to right wing groups, including Anita Bryant, to help stamp out gays. You are the
acknowledged leader of the Colorado Crazies, including James Watt. You sneak into
• Reviewed interview strategy:
o During an inter-view, you have rights…Advised Joe and Bill of their rights with
Mike Wallace, i.e., the right to set their own pace, the right to be comfortable, the
right to have Mr. Wallace repeat a question if they are uncomfortable with it, the
right to ask Mr. Wallace for more information or why he may be asking a certain
Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
Reminded Joe and Bill to remember the “real audience” would not
o be Mike Wallace
oadcast. We urged them
entire question.
o Advised them to sm
o Som
me hostile, no matter how hostile Mike Wallace might become. We
ing
• Rev
o Some types of questions, favorites of investigative reporters (particularly the
bro ), should not be answered in the form they were asked. We told
them
ck
but the millions of viewers who would be watching the br
to use language the person at home could understand.
o Cautioned them to listen carefully to the
ile and not be afraid to show a sense of humor.
e don’ts that were reviewed:
Don’t fall for Mike Wallace’s technique, the “pregnant” pause. You feel
compelled to fill the space—lots of errors occur here.
Don’t beco
emphasized that more points could be made with the real audience by keep
cool.
iewed interview techniques:
adcast media
to answer the question their way, then bridge to a positive objective.
Examples:
A or B Questions–The answer doesn’t have to be yes or no, either/or, black or
white. It may well be C—or D, E, or F. Example: “Your sales are down. Is
this because? a. Of your Johnny-come-lately marketing campaign? or b. La
of commitment on the part of your independent distributors? Answer: Our sales
are off due to tough competitive pressures in the market-place. But the reason
we’ll be successful in the long run is because we make a unique quality beer.
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Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
have knowledge of August Busch’s statement, but I can tell you that at the top
management levels we’re committed to providing a good place to work.
Irrelevant–We told them they did not have to answer any irrelevant questions.
that
t
• w with Mike Wallace
would take place. We reviewed and critiqued the videotapes and each officer. We e
• espond emotionally rather than intellectually, it’s
portant to make a good impression with appearance and mannerisms. Some things
o What type of chairs to sit in; where chairs should be placed
o portan might become
Engaged Harbicht Resear arch with
bee s
Wave I
Wave II One week after broadcast (10/1-4)
Example: “Mrs. Coors is a born-again Christian—how do you reconcile
with the fact that you support causes that are costing Americans their jobs?”
Answer: We’re not here to talk about Mrs. Coors, but we are here to talk abou
the unfair boycott carried on by a few rejected union officials.
Loaded Preface–We advised them to watch out for long questions that
contained outrageous statements from which they may want to disassociate
themselves. Example: “We all know that Coors is anti-union, anti-gay, anti-
Actual interviews were conducted with Joe and Bill by professional reporters before
television cameras and lights in the setting where the intervie
prepared a follow-up memorandum summarizing the key points. It’s interesting to not
Other–Recognizing that audiences r
im
were considered:
o Joe Coors’s glasses
o Whether to wear coats and ties
o Whether to use make-up
The im ce of smiling, no matter how hostile Mike Wallace
ch Inc., of Arcadia, California, to perform formal rese
r consumer to measure the impact of the show in Los Angeles and Denver:
Immediately prior to broadcast (9/21-26)
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Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
Wave III Four weeks after broadcast (10/28-31)—Wave III was intended as a
measure of long-term impact of the program.
Ope
stions of any
•
s” and comments from three
employees eventually appeared in the segment aired in September.
y they wanted to do, and then they set about doing it. They were
eilsen, 20.8 million households saw the program; it was the number two
show of the week.
We
the
• Coors received more than eight hundred letters expressing viewers’ thoughts about the
In addition, according to CBS the thousands of letters it received about the
Engaged Manning, Selvage & Lee to perform a media audit in Los Angeles.
n Door Policy
• Invited Allan Maraynes, producer, to visit the brewery and ask que
employee he wanted about the working conditions at Coors.
Prepared extensive chronology of Coors’s labor relations history.
What followed was a series of questions and answers between Mike Wallace and over a
dozen Coors employees. These were all filmed by “60 Minute
Evaluation
Mike Wallace and his producer were professionals in every sense of the word. They
explained what type of stor
never hostile or antagonistic, although Mike Wallace was tough in his questioning.
According to N
met our objective to turn a potentially negative story into a positive one as evidenced by
following:
program—only six were negative. We also received hundreds of phone calls supporting
Coors.
broadcast were overwhelmingly in favor of Coors.
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth 7
Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
• The media audit revealed that 90 percent of the media saw the show. All believed t
story was positive for Coors. Importantly, the people with some of the strongest anti-
Coors feelings six months earlier showed th
he
e largest change in attitude.
Follow up
leaders. The transmittal to distributors suggested
• f the employee brown bag luncheon with Mike
Wallace.
•
Conclusion
ors Company faced its biggest communication challenge ever in 1982 when s
d
an industrial society to an
editorials appeared in several newspapers.
• Negotiated with “60 Minutes” to purchase rights to reproduce and distribute tapes for
employees, distributors, and opinion
ways to use the tape in their markets to capitalize on the positive impact.
Made available to employees the tape o
Held an open house with management and employees to share the “60 Minutes”
broadcast. Shared “60 Minutes” updates with employees and distributors through
employee and distributor publications.
Adolph Co
Coors was the subject of a “60 Minutes” investigation by Mike Wallace. Our objective wa
to turn a potentially negative report into a positive one by providing an open and candi
forum for the “60 Minutes” team. We successfully accomplished our objective.
Trends
There are a number of emerging issues in which business plays a part and that have
substantial impact on the public. A quick reading of major periodicals provides some
indication of what these issues are: America’s shift from
information society; multinationalism with both domestic and international ramifications;
corporate governance at all levels; increasing reliance on public referenda and consumer
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth 8
Adolph Coors Company (B) no. 1-1028
journalists of today come prepared with better understanding of the workings of busine
they also have the resources of large media organizations. The outcome of all these
changes—the
ss and
new issues, the rise of new power centers, and the enlarged influence and
s
reach of the media—has been to bring previously private organizational problems into the
public domain. Unlike the earlier muckraking, investigative reporting of the ’80s will
attempt to interpret more thoroughly and accurately all of these massive changes in a
targeted manner. It is an opportunity for an organization to communicate positive message
about itself.
Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth 9