3 Culture Missteps Brands Made in 2019 That We Don’t Want To See Again in 2020

While 2019 was full of triumphs for brands within the franchise industry, there were also a few companies that suffered some hefty blows. From ousting CEOs to serving compromised products and everything in between, there’s been more than a few instances in the last year where brands have received some not-so-positive media attention. Take a look at a few of the biggest brand missteps from 2019 that we hope to not see again in 2020. 

1. Papa John’s John Schnatter Debacle

The popular pizza chain had a year to forget in 2019. After sales plummeted in 2018 in the wake of news that founder John Schnatter used a racial slur on a conference call, Schnatter was promptly ousted as CEO and slowly but surely lost all formal titles with the brand by April 2019. By May, he began selling his shares, but the brand was still dealing with the fallout with its franchisees and fans alike. As part of its rebranding initiative, Papa John’s brought on Shaquille O'Neal as its new brand ambassador and board member—and committed to a $40 million marketing campaign last year to reacquaint us all. For everyone’s sake, we hope this is the last time we’ve seen John Schnatter. 

2. Burger King’s Disingenuous Impossible Whopper Practices

After the fast food chain made a splash with the unveiling of its new plant-based meat alternative dubbed the Impossible Whopper, an aptly named product born from a partnership with Impossible Foods, Burger King’s saw a huge spike in consumer interest. It was short-lived, though, and revealed Burger King’s seemingly impure motives for offering plant-based meat alternatives in the first place. In November, the brand was sued for misleading consumers about meatless burgers being cooked on the same grill as their beef counterparts, leading consumers within the vegetarian and vegan demographics to quickly turn their praise for Burger King into criticism. 

3. Jack in the Box CEO Bails After No-Confidence Vote

After 18 years with the brand, six of which were spent as CEO, Lenny Comma left Jack in the Box for good in 2019. It’s speculated that his departure had a lot to do with tension that existed between the former CEO and the National Jack in the Box Franchise Association, which called for his removal in October 2019, citing a years-long “lack of communication or action from corporate leadership to correct the trending decline in transactions.” Goes to show that if you’re leading a company and you continuously ignore the individuals that comprise it and don’t address their concerns, they’ll come together to unite around making the change you wouldn’t. 

While no brand is immune to making the occasional misstep every now and then, these three instances were just so pronounced (and avoidable), we just couldn’t ignore them. Attention, other brands: Explore these poor decisions. Understand what caused them to arise and move forward. Then stop yourself from making the same ones and suffering a similar fate. It’s 2020, after all.

Image via The Drum.