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2. Blue Bell's Facebook Posts and Responses During the 2015 Listeria Crisis: A Case Study
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Opat, Kelsi (author), Magness, Haley (author), Irlbeck, Erica (author), and Texas Tech University
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2018
- Published:
- United States: New Prairie Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 152 Document Number: D10154
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Applied Communications
- Journal Title Details:
- 102(4)
- Notes:
- 18 pages, via online journal article, Blue Bell Creameries faced an unprecedented situation when it pulled all of its products during a Listeria outbreak in 2015. Despite a very public crisis that resulted in three deaths, Blue Bell survived the disaster and maintained a large and loyal customer base. A content analysis of the Blue Bell Ice Cream Facebook page was conducted to evaluate Blue Bell’s public communications, and its followers’ public reactions to the Facebook communication during the crisis. Results indicated that Blue Bell primarily posted messages that included recall and restocking information, thankfulness to stakeholders, and details about improvements to food safety during the crisis. These messages created a sense of transparency, which can increase customers’ trust and brand loyalty. Their consumers largely responded with comments containing overwhelming loyalty themes as well as questions and messages of thanks. Recommendations for agri-food companies include operating transparently before, during, and after a crisis. Organizations should follow Blue Bell’s example and avoid publishing messages that include attacks, denial, scapegoating, or excuses during a crisis.
3. Why websites work: An examination of interdisciplinary agricultural center websites
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- McLeod, Ashley (author), McKee, Valerie (author), Woodall, Savannah (author), McKee, Brandon (author), and Rumble, Joy (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2018
- Published:
- USA: New Prairie Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 152 Document Number: D10138
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Applied Communications
- Journal Title Details:
- 102(4)
- Notes:
- 16 pages, via online journal article, This study examined the online content of interdisciplinary agricultural center webpages. Content modification dates, mission statements, and content were determined through a content analysis. Many of the websites did not mention a modification date for the content, while many websites had outdated content mostly older than six months. More than two-thirds of the websites provided PDFs that visitor could download to learn more about topics, by many of the websites lacked any media element that was being coded. Additionally, many websites did not use multiple forms of media. More than half of the websites were coded as lacking any social media content or plugins, but out of the websites that did include social media content, Facebook was the most prevalent. The commonalities between the center’s mission displayed on the website and the content theme were analyzed and chi-square tests provided the degree of association. A significant association existed and an alignment between communication strategies and missions of the centers was concluded, which is important when organizations communicate about agricultural science as indicated by previous literature. It is recommended that centers communicate via their websites in a timely manner and allow modification times to be seen to viewers to show their information is up-to-date. Website media content should also be diversified and communicators of these centers should explore the unique communication opportunities provided by social media. Future research should explore the target audience of interdisciplinary agricultural centers and should analyze the messages centers are using to communicate with those audiences.