Message Strategies: Responding to Rumors [LO-7]

Sheila Elliot, a well-known actress, appeared on a national talk show last night and claimed your company’s Smoothstone cookware was responsible for her toddler’s learning disability. Elliot said the nonstick surfaces of Smoothstone pots and pans contain a dangerous chemical that affected her child’s cognitive development.

There’s just one problem with her story—well, three problems, actually: (1) Your company’s cookware line is called Moonstone, not Smoothstone; (2) Moonstone does not contain and never has contained the chemical Elliot mentioned, and

(3) the product she is really thinking of was called Smoothfire, which was made by another company and was pulled off the market five years ago.

Thousands of worried parents aren’t waiting for the fact checkers, however. They took to the blogosphere and Twittersphere with a vengeance overnight, warning people to throw away anything made by your company (Tatum Housewares). Several television stations have already picked up the Twitter chatter and repeated the rumor. Retailers are already calling your sales staff to cancel orders.

Your task: Write a three-message sequence to be posted on your company’s Twitter account, correcting the rumor and conveying the three points outlined above. Each message will include a URL linking to your company’s website, so restrict each message to 120 characters, including spaces.