One slip-up could wreck your image.

What seems like a harmless sign in a UK supermarket is actually the result of weeks of anguish for the company, especially in the marketing department.

You’d have thought that legal issues are not so central to marketing.

Think again. As you’ll have read about in the Economic/Legal section of the PEST model, you need to be on top of legal issues as they can change your job in marketing overnight.

The story behind this sign was typical for the way things go. Somebody slipped up on a grape, sued the company, it hit the press … and the marketing people went into panic mode (especially in the PR department, but probably also in crisis management – assuming they had it).

In the end the man who sued Marks and Spencers lost his case. From a marketing perspective I can confirm that the chain store dealt with the case admirably well. Now they’ve thought again about their P for place – and hopefully won’t have any more silly slip-ups like this again.