Cepia LLC
Company: Cepia LLC, St. Louis, MO
Entry Submitted By: Zeno Group
Company Description: Headquartered in St Louis, Mo., Cepia LLC has successfully marketed toys for children of all ages for over 30 years. Ingenuity, creativity, playfulness, and passion are the heart of Cepia. Zhu Zhu Pets, Cepia’s newest venture, has become an international sensation by combining realistic interaction with a fun, imaginative, interactive play design and was named the 2010 Toy of the Year.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Crisis Communications
Nomination Title: Cepia LLC Crisis Communications
1. Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2009 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Named as the Toy Industry Association’s (TIA) 2010 Toy of the Year, Zhu Zhu Pets
were skyrocketing to fame during the 2009 holiday season before a third-party
watchdog group made an accusation that had the potential to ruin the reputation
of Zhu Zhu Pets, their manufacturer, Cepia LLC and key retail partners. Cepia
looked to Zeno Group to help set the record straight. The crisis communications
techniques executed by Zeno and Cepia quickly blunted the negative stories,
safeguarded Cepia’s reputation and ultimately exonerated Zhu Zhu Pets.
On Saturday, December 5, 2009, San Francisco-based GoodGuide, which provides
social responsibility ratings on consumer products, tweeted, “Hottest Holiday
Toys High in Hazardous Chemicals. If Zhu Zhu Pets are on your list, see our
ratings, first.” GoodGuide claimed that its test results revealed a toxic
chemical, antimony, on the hair and nose of the toy hamster, Mr. Squiggles. A
local San Francisco TV affiliate picked up the tweet and within hours the story
was running on top-tier national television networks and online news sites
across the country. What the stories didn’t reveal was that GoodGuide’s testing
methodology did not meet federal toy testing regulations and was not recognized
by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Zeno and Cepia faced the
challenge of quickly correcting false accusations in the media before consumers
boycotted the product.
Zeno aligned Cepia with its most credible third party testing agency, the World
Renowned Bureau Veritas Consumer Product Services to get media to focus on the
facts— that Zhu Zhu Pets were in compliance with federal toy testing bodies. A
statement underscoring Cepia’s compliance to safety laws and its commitment to
producing quality products was posted on ZhuZhuPet.com along with safety testing
procedures and results conducted by Bureau Veritas. Cepia also offered
interviews with key executives and lined up spokespeople from the TIA, who
offered to do interviews and issue statements on Cepia’s behalf.
Media outlets including, “Good Morning America,” “TODAY,” “CBS Early Show,” “FOX
& Friends” and the Associated Press promptly updated stories to reflect Cepia’s
statement. On Monday, December 7, the CPSC released the following statement
after conducting its own tests on the Zhu Zhu Pets: “The CPSC confirms that the
popular Zhu Zhu Pets toy is not out of compliance with Antimony or any other
heavy metal limits of the US mandatory Toy Standards. There will be no recall.”
Broadcast and print stories concluded that Zhu Zhu Pets were in compliance with
the standards of the highest testing bodies, reassuring the public of a safe
holiday gifting season. Media results included an exclusive interview on “ABC
World News Tonight,” stories on “NBC Nightly News,” “Good Morning America”, and
articles in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
Overall, the media relations program generated more than 760 million media
impressions.
Cepia did not suffer any significant decline in holiday sales, and was commended
by retail partners and U.S. toy manufacturers for standing up to a rogue
third-party toy testing organization.
2. List hyperlinks to any online work samples, news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Additional supporting documents, including a media tracker, sample news stories
and broadcast coverage clips can be found at
http://cepiallc_crisis_com.keepandshare.com under the “Document” tab.
(Keep and Share user name: cepiallc_crisis_com, password: stevies09)
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:
Bruce Katz, Senior Vice President, Sales, Cepia LLC, has more than 27 years of
industry-defining experience and leads sales efforts for Zhu Zhu Pets™ and the
company’s other toy brands.
Natalie Hornsby, Vice President of Marketing, Cepia LLC has been the driving
force behind the marketing and branding of Zhu Zhu Pets.
Grant Deady is the Managing Director of the Zeno Group Chicago office and serves
as strategic counsel for clients and specializes in developing consumer
messaging for brands including Pizza Hut, Sears and Tropicana.