Wrong move, Wisynco, are you seeking a pyrrhic victory?

THE EDITOR, Sir:

WISYNCO IS one of those Jamaican companies that I hold in high esteem. So you would imagine my surprise to have learnt that the company is taking the Heart Foundation of Jamaica to court because of a supposed Instagram post where an incorrect volume of water in the CranWata brand was posted.

I am sure that those who are in charge of strategic decisions at the company must have been on leave when this ill-advised lawsuit came about. Because those who know anything about marketing and strategy would see the dangers and know it would be very stupid to sue a non-governmental organisation such as the Heart Foundation, which has done so much for Jamaica and Jamaicans.

All of this is in relation to their ‘Are you drinking yourself sick?’ campaign, which many support.

NO EXCUSE FOR INACCURACIES

This is not to excuse any inaccuracies that may have been published. But it would be a pyrrhic victory for Wysinco if they even were successful in the suit because the bitter taste it would leave in the mouth would not only affect its stock prices, but also how customers viewed its brand.

Put another way, Wisynco would be damaged.

If Mr William Mahfood and his so-called legal advisers felt so much aggrieved by the post, it could simply have written to the foundation asking for it to be corrected with the facts, and since it has its own platform, it could post the facts.

Now, for sure, Wisynco would be better off dropping the suit and seeking dialogue instead of being so confrontational and militant.

I have a word of advice for Mr Mahfood: even if you are convinced you are in the right today, you are like ly to find that you’ll look back, or future chairmen and managers will, and concede that the campaigners did have a point. Context is everything and changes fairly fast these days.

DR NATHAN NEWMAN Development Researcher Lecturer, International Business

Harvard University