With Fierce Competition, Blue Bell Counting On Loyal Customers For Return
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - Blue Bell spent more than a century cultivating its image of the little creamery in Brenham.
But Dr. Carrie La Ferle, a Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Temerlin Advertising Institute at Southern Methodist University, cautions that homespun ads are way down its "to-do' list in these modern times, because the truth always comes out. "Blue Bell just needs to know that social media exists and information is everywhere and it travels faster than ever before," she said.
La Ferle believes job one is to take care of the Listeria victims; locate and fix the cause of the illness; and continue its partnership with the Food and Drug Administration. Only then worry about ads. "It's so important to keep trust and to treat consumers as people and something of value and not just as a dollar sign."
Quick action, she believes, will help long-time customers keep the faith when Blue Bell products hit the shelves again.
People like Garsa Statman said she will be there when Blue Bell goes back into production. "Sure, we'll go back to it, but you have to be comfortable with what you buy," she told CBS 11 News.
Thomas Gilliland echoed the sentiment. "It seems like they're on top of it, trying to make sure they're doing the best precautions they can to make sure it's not getting out to the customers." He says Blue Bell is the preferred brand at his home.
Jana Selman calls the current bad reports a bunch of nonsense. "People just blow things way out of proportion and I just don't get into this mass hysteria people get into," she said adding, "I have some at home I'm eating right now and I didn't throw it away."
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
