PR Week Echo Columns

Organisation: Asda

Analysis and commentary by Echo Research.

Click here for full-size graph

Coverage revealed no clear leader in the media propaganda war between supermarket retailer Asda and the GMB union in their dispute over national collective bargaining. The threat of a five-day strike by depot workers, aimed at disrupting supplies at World Cup quarter final time, a time of expected heavy demand for snacks and alcohol, raised the spectre of empty shelves for the retailer: "Empty shelves in days" (Sunderland Echo, 22/6), "Five-day strike to hit Asda stores" (ITV.com, 22/6), "It ASDA strike!" (Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 22/6). "The union's aim is to strip the shelves of fresh produce and alcohol" noted The Times (24/6). Round one to the GMB.

Asda's retaliatory manoeuvre - to legally block the strike by claiming that the strike ballot was flawed - was dubbed "the latest bad-tempered skirmish before the real battle" (The Times, 24/6), but successfully grabbed the all-important weekend headlines: "Asda threatens to sue over 'flawed' strike ballot" (Guardian, 24/6). The supermarket's assurances that customers would not notice any disruption due to comprehensive contingency plans, and that it would bus staff through picket lines, ensured that round two went to Asda. With both sides locked in an increasingly bitter war of words, accusations and counter-accusations, it seems unlikely that either will emerge victorious.