Study: Consumers stay loyal to Tylenol, despite recent McNeil problems

PHILADELPHIA —According to a recent study released by the Relational Capital Group, consumer purchase intent and brand loyalty for Tylenol still is high despite the recent spate of Tylenol product recalls. According to the study, 76% of consumers reported positive purchase intent, and 67% reported positive brand loyalty for Tylenol.

That ought to be good news for Johnson & Johnson. During a hearing held earlier this month, J&J chairman and CEO Bill Weldon noted that McNeil Consumer would begin resupplying the recalled Tylenol products in the coming weeks and ramping up to traditional supply levels through first quarter 2011.

“As you look at the Tylenol situation, consumers are interpreting [McNeil’s] production problems as a short-term lapse in competence, rather than a significant change in what their intentions are toward consumers,” Chris Malone, chief advisory officer of the Relational Capital Group, told Drug Store News. “When we look at the Tylenol brand, it appears that there is such a long track record of reliability and trust, and a deep reservoir of good will,” he said, that consumers generally don’t believe J&J intentionally cut any corners in an effort to boost profits. In contrast, consumers generally identified both a lapse in competence and a dishonest pattern in the behavior of BP over the course of that company’s oil spill crisis.