Red Stripe releases results of investigation into racist remarks in summer magazine - Red Hot Summer

I received an email from the Managing Director of Red Stripe, Mark McKenzie, containing a letter with the results of their investigation into the racist remarks that appeared in a summer publication sponsored by Red Stripe (see story - http://www.nowpublic.com/racist-comments-red-stripe-jamaica). An apology was issued in the local paper - The Jamaica Observer, in early October and Mr. McKenzie has been actively addressing the issue.

The writer of the actual article has still not come forward, nor has the publisher, leaving Red Stripe to take all the blame. Here is the letter:

October 29, 2007

Dear Sir/Madam,

For the purpose of transparency as well as to fulfil a commitment I made to several concerned parties, I wish to share with you the outcome of the Red Hot Issue review that was conducted by senior Diageo experts.

Allow me to first reiterate that as soon as the matter came to light, we moved quickly to address the issue. We ceased further distribution of the magazine and destroyed all available copies. On October 2, the Jamaica Observer published a forthright apology from me.

Since then, an expert in our marketing code visited the island along with the Corporate Relations Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. They conducted a thorough and independent review of the situation and published a report to the senior executives of Diageo.

The review confirmed what I stated in my initial response to you and other concerned individuals, that there was a regrettable breakdown in company policy and procedures. A number of recommendations have been put forward, all of which we will be implementing. These include:

• Introducing a state of the art internet based Diageo Marketing Code (DMC) sign off process
• Conducting DMC Refresher training programmes for employees and agencies
• Changing an internal reporting line to ensure appropriate oversight
• Administering appropriate disciplinary actions
• Conducting annual reviews of the code

We are convinced that these actions will prevent any further breaches of our code.

By your interest you have helped us to tighten our controls and ensure that we are imposing the most stringent codes of business conduct in regulating our activities.

Thank you for your commitment to our company and our brands. You have our commitment that we will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen our reputation and to market our products responsibly.

Sincerely,

Mark McKenzie
Red Stripe