Carmen Fields

On August 2, 2007 Mattel recalled nearly one million Chinese-made toys because they were tainted with lead paint. The paint used in the Mattel toys was found to be 180 times the legal limit. United States Federal law allows 0.06% lead in paint and these toys had nearly 11% lead from paint. Lead poisoning can lead to learning, behavioral, and developmental problems. In some cases, lead poisoning can even lead to death. This is why this situation broke out into a full-blown crisis.

On August 14, 2007 Mattel recalled more than 18 million toys because they contained small powerful magnets that could be harmful to children. If ingested, the magnets could attract each other in the child's stomach causing damage to the intestines. Overall, more than 21 Mattel toys from 43 international markets were recalled and deemed unsafe.

The CEO, Bob Eckert, made several speeches to the public within the following days, weeks, and months of the crisis. In his speeches, Mattel took full responsibility for the crisis, apologized for it, and created several messages to key audiences to ensure that they reached all of their stakeholders. The people most affected by this crisis were families with children. Mattel wanted to make sure that these parents would not loose trust in Mattel as a leading toy manufacturer.

 From all angles, Mattel had a strong crisis management strategy. Mattel had unwavering key messages to their stakeholders. Mattel had a daily plan after the crisis of new ways to get their messages to the public via different venues (mass media, their website, and then print media). Mattel even created a hotline for concerned parents and conducted follow-up interviews with public relations officials to ensure that their crisis management strategy was being broadcasted appropriately. Although this situation was a huge crisis for Mattel, their crisis management strategy was topnotch and should be looked to by other companies going through similar situations.

From all angles, Mattel had a strong crisis management strategy. Mattel had unwavering key messages to their stakeholders. Mattel had a daily plan after the crisis of new ways to get their messages to the public via different venues (mass media, their website, and then print media). Mattel even created a hotline for concerned parents and conducted follow-up interviews with public relations officials to ensure that their crisis management strategy was being broadcasted appropriately. Although this situation was a huge crisis for Mattel, their crisis management strategy was topnotch and should be looked to by other companies going through similar situations.