business communication unilever vietnam and case study of communication problems

Lessons:...18Table of FiguresFigure 1.1: The advertisement on the fanpage of Unilever Pureit Vietnam...6Figure 1.2: Explanation of Unilever Pureit...7Figure 1.3: Guidelines for Writing O

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITYSCHOOL OF TRADE AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS

Table of Contents

Abstract 2I.Company background: 4

II.Case I: Fanpage’s ads of Unilever Pureit VN confused customers: 5

1 Description of the situation 5

2 Purposes of choosing the situation 7

3 Reasons for the situation 8

4 Consequences of the situation 10

5 Suggestion 11

III.Case II: Unclear packaging and false advertisement from Knorr: 12

1 Description of the situation: 12

2 Purposes of choosing the situation 14

3 Reasons for the situation 14

4 Consequences of the situation 16

5 Suggestion 17

IV Lessons: 18

Table of FiguresFigure 1.1: The advertisement on the fanpage of Unilever Pureit Vietnam 6

Figure 1.2: Explanation of Unilever Pureit 7

Figure 1.3: Guidelines for Writing Online Reviews and Complaints 9

Figure 1.4: Slowing revenue of Unilever quarterly from 2012 to 2018 (%) (Bloomberg) 10

Figure 2.1: Packaging of Knorr’s broth mix 12

Figure 2.2: Advertisement of Knorr on television 13

Figure 2.3: Lack of language skills 15

Figure 2.4: A customer’s reaction after realizing “being fooled” 17Figure 2.5: Unilever Vietnam’s Marginal Profit through Years (%) (Bloomberg).17

I.Company background:

Unilever PLC is a British multinational consumer goods companyheadquartered in London, United Kingdom Unilever's products are available inaround 190 countries and 25 million retailers make up its global network Theirbusiness is in FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) industry The company wantsto create goods for the planet and society while limiting the harm They take actionto solve the social and environmental problems facing the world, and improvepeople's lives with their products; therefore, achieving their goals sustainably.

Officially established in Vietnam in 1995, Unilever Vietnam has become one ofthe most successful businesses in Vietnam with positive contributions to thesustainable socio-economic development of the country for over 25 years In 2020,they are named among the Top 10 Sustainable Businesses in Vietnam Theiractions and campaigns for society show that they are a big enterprise that achievesits CSR (Corporal Social Responsibility)

In our case, among many products, we chose the field of food solutions whichis Knorr, and water purifier which is Unilever Pureit VN.

Unilever Pureit - a brand of home waterpurifiers belonging to Unilever Unilever Pureitwater purifier brand was presented in 14countries and has quickly become the world'sbest-selling home water purifier brand.

Knorr is a German food and beveragebrand It has been owned by Unilever since2000 Nowadays, Knorr is present in 102countries across continents Introduced to

the Vietnamese market in 2000, Knorr has launched many modern and high-endproducts with the main purpose to help Vietnamese women have a better life

Especially in April 2001, the launch of “Knorr seasoning” is an importantmilestone in the Vietnamese market.

II.Case I: Fanpage’s ads of Unilever Pureit VN confusedcustomers

1 Description of the situation

According to the Kien Thuc newspaper, in the field of product advertising,Unilever Vietnam is always committed to complying with the legal regulations onadvertising to ensure that consumers do not misunderstand the nature of the goodsadvertised

In the advertisement for the Unilever Pureit water purifier as well as theUnilever Pureit Vietnam fanpage, Unilever Pureit affirms that the information andimages used are all real information and have been verified before being posted.

However, the survey of Kien Thuc showed that, in fact, in the advertisement onthe Unilever Pureit Vietnam fanpage, Unilever Vietnam confirmed: "After 2 hoursof boiling water, let it cool down, it is more toxic than when it is not boiled".

Figure 1.1: The advertisement on the fanpage of Unilever Pureit Vietnam

On the fanpage, Unilever Vietnam: “2 Hours After Boiling, The Water

boiling for 2 hours, water will become twice as toxic as if it was not boiled”.Clearly, the message that Unilever wants to convey to readers through this ad isthat boiled water after 2 hours is not safe, even more, toxic than before boiling.This assertion will surely confuse many consumers that cooled boiled water is notsafe.

Not stopping there, also on its Fanpage, Unilever Pureit Vietnam continuesto strongly advertise its water purifier with the message: "According to WHO,200,000 Vietnamese people have cancer every year because of food and watersanitation Protect your family with safe drinking water Are you sure a few

minutes of boiling tap water can remove harmful impurities and heavy metals, leadfrom rusty pipes? Contaminated water drinking is one of the main causes oflong-term cell changes and cancer for many Vietnamese people.”

Figure 1.2: Explanation of Unilever Pureit

This affirmation makes most people implicitly understand: Drinking cooledboiled water, which has been a habit of Vietnamese people for a very long time isstill considered the safest - now poses a risk of affecting health, even cancer…

So, is Unilever's commitment to "ensure consumers do not misunderstand ordeviate from the nature of the advertised goods" trustworthy?

2 Purposes of choosing the situation

One of the most common mistakes in business communication is lackingclarity, which puts the receiver or the audience into confusion and leads toineffectiveness in conveying ideas Based on the company issues, we want tohighlight the shortage of clearness in business language, and the consequences thatdid and are likely to happen due to using vague and misunderstood words

3 Reasons for the situation

In this case, external communication of Unilever Pureit Vietnam led to manymisunderstandings among customers although it undeniably has a strong impactand influence on them.

 Lack of credibility in writing online messages (Chapter 8)

Since there was an exaggeration in the first message to highlight the importanceof a water purifier, it made consumers worried about the misinformation Foodsuch as vegetables, meat, and fish, normally takes 5 hours to be stale, and watercan be left for 24 hours after cooling However, the post mentioned that boiled

water is faster than food to be recontaminated, which showed a highly negativebias of Pureit

In response to the Kien Thuc newspaper, UVN quoted the views of someexperts who have answered on the Internet However, the original post onFacebook did not give any citations, so there was no basis of knowledge to back upfor the company in case of a crisis

Later on June 11th, 2017, Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Duy Thinh - Instituteof Food and Biotechnology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, whosestatement Unilever put its trust on, responded with more details in an interviewwith Kien Thuc It is true that when boiling water or other foods, when cooled,they are invaded by bacteria causing rancidity But cooled boiled water has a lowerorganic matter content than foods such as green vegetables, meat, and fish, so itdoes not go rancid quickly Therefore, water can be up to 24 hours after cooling.

Figure 1.3: Guidelines for Writing Online Reviews and Complaints

We could not neglect that the message managed to inform and create goodwillin raising awareness but created resentment and confusion among consumers Notonly does it lack reliability, but also shows the carelessness of the marketing teamin generalizing the source of water In the context when even experts still have tocontinue to research the safety of boiled water to find the most accurateconclusions, misleading views from Unilever’s ads may be inappropriate.

 Misleading promise in Sales Messages (Chapter 10)

When being questioned about the first piece of information, Unilever gave a

misleading promise with new evidence that water is being contaminated The

topic then changed from undermining the role of boiled water to warning about thecontamination of water sources They were all marketing strategies of Unilever,which concluded that consumers need to buy the firm’s water purifier From thefirst look, the message looked normal and informative However, if taking a closerlook, Unilever deliberately set aside the fact that water was processed in waterplants before people use it Even though UVN later claimed the message to helpraise awareness of sanitary conditions in Vietnam, the public still considered it as“dirty media.”

4 Consequences of the situation

In case 1, Unilever Pureit Vietnam, showing negative bias and purposelymisinformation could be considered a deceiving method in business marketing Asa result, the company suffered a fast and remarkable falling down in profit in thethird quarter of the year 2017 (which is shown in the diagram below) whenreleasing the marketing post for Pureit

Figure 1.4: Slowing revenue of Unilever quarterly from 2012 to 2018 (%)(Bloomberg)

5 Suggestion

This incident must have left many lessons for Unilever.

Firstly, the company should be careful when posting warning information,especially health warnings because this kind of information is likely to causeconfusion for customers and make things difficult to control The company shouldhave anticipated consumers’ reactions to this information before posting it.

Besides, when proving their claims, Unilever should have providedevidence, accompanied by a reliable source The examples provided by UVN arearticles related to broken water pipes, and unsafe water pipes, which are only asmall part but not the general situation of the entire water sources in Vietnam Forthis, Unilever can survey the situation of water sources and water transmissionlines in major cities in Vietnam This will make the information more accurate,comprehensive, and reliable.

Finally, “editing” and “cutting” information, and using misleading words toorient public opinion are not allowed Instead of using ambiguous words, thecompany should use standardized words to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

III.Case II: Unclear packaging and false advertisement fromKnorr

1 Description of the situation:

In most seasoning advertisements, the main message of the manufacturer isalways "sweetmeat, sweet bones”, little, even no MSG "Ngọt canh xương ống,đậm đà thịt thăn'' is the main message of this seasoning brand All of the above

promotional clips promote Knorr seasoning primarily due to the loin and bonemarrow.

In the picture of packing, the producer's message states that Knorr has carefullyselected loin and tibia ingredients

Figure 2.1: Packaging of Knorr’s broth mix

The other clip explains more about the composition of the seasoning, whichemphasizes the element of loin and bone Therefore, consumers will understandthat in this seasoning, there is tenderloin and bone marrow that can be substitutedfor pure meat and bone, which can help mothers overcome the challenge ofcooking soup without meat and bones but still delicious Knorr also states: "Withthe tenderloin and bone marrow stewing for hours, the new Knorr seasoning makes

for a delicious, sweet, rich broth”

Figure 2.2: Advertisement of Knorr on television

But the ingredients of each packet of broth mix are only 2% tenderloin meal,bone marrow extract, and bone marrow According to the test results of theTechnical Center for Standards, Metrology and Quality 3, the ingredients of "goodKnorr broth mix" include salt (53.8%), sugar (12.8%), and MSG (30%), proteinpowder (13.7%).

When the VTC News reporter asked to discuss the matter, Ms Nguyen ThiHong, in charge of the Food Department of Unilever Company, the Knorrseasoning producer, "pushed" the matter to the management agency According toMs Hong, advertising has standards, and the management agency is licensed.

Other issues about flavor enhancers, juiciness are extracted from marrow,bone, and loin, when the interviewer asked, Ms Hong replied that she was at work,so she was very busy and promised to pay next word However, as the weeks wentby, the reporter never received a reply from Ms Hong or Unilever.

2 Purposes of choosing the situation

Unfamiliar words, similar to vagueness, are not rare in business writing.However, in this situation for Knorr, Unilever Vietnam had tactfully made use ofthis through public media channels for gaining profit If analyzed in detail, thiscase revealed not only the dishonesty in marketing goods but also the ethicalproblem in modern business.

3 Reasons for the situation Lack of language skills (Chapter 4)

Using unfamiliar words, jargon, and unrecognizable abbreviations can seriouslyimpede the transmission of meaning In the second situation, Knorr used scientificabbreviations to keep customers from realizing that 30% of the ingredients wereactually MSG, Monosodium Glutamate, or soup powder Those abbreviationsmake many people believe in using broth mix because it is considered to be morenutritious from meat and bone, and not much more expensive than MSG To beprecise, Knorr took advantage of this pitfall to deceive customers into believingthat its products are “more natural than soup powder”

Figure 2.3: Lack of language skill

They didn’t know that behind the cheap price is because most of the ingredientsin the broth mix are sweeteners, and MSG, and only 2% juice The key ingredientsfor flavoring E627 and E631 are actually super sweets, 200% sweeter than MSG.Another ingredient, the flavor enhancer E621 is MSG.

Despite countering that 2% of Knorr's juice is the quintessential, being assuredwith the quality and then being legally approved on TV Nevertheless, if the qualityis original, why does Knorr sell it at such a low price? Thus, Knorr could not findany reasons to hide its intention to deceive the customers

 Possibility of incurring liability

Such message provided by Knorr on the packaging and advertisements on TVcould lead litigation However, luckily, national laws did not indicate this is illegalsince the producer did not have to meet the quality with a minimum percentage, aslong as there must be that ingredient in the products.

Lawyer Bui Quang Hung, Law Office Bui Quang Hung and his associates saidthat the ingredients are only 1.8 - 2% but are put up as the main ingredients inadvertising according to the provisions of the Law on Advertising did not violate.The law does not stipulate how much % or more must be guaranteed before usingthat material to emphasize in advertising.

This is a loophole in the advertising law for manufacturers to hit the tastes andbeliefs of customers In order for customers to mistakenly believe that they areusing pure natural products, in fact, there are many other ingredients and these arethe majority of ingredients.