Monsanto’s unsolicited courtship of Swiss rival Syngenta AG has the potential to do many things for the agriculture giant.
But could a massive merger — the price could run as high as $50 billion — do anything for the image of a company that’s become a punching bag for environmentalists, foodies and other activists?
Clearly, there’s no easy public relations fix for a corporation that’s blamed for a range of ills, including the rise of superweeds, the decimation of the monarch butterfly, legal assaults on farmers and the unwanted (in the eyes of critics) genetic manipulation of our food supply.
Still, a major move like this brings with it the potential for change, marketing experts say.
That doesn’t, however, mean we would see an instant evolution of the company’s public persona. You can’t, after all, simply buy a new reputation. Hot-button issues would remain, said Haim Mano, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
But, he notes, Syngenta does have a better public image, giving Monsanto something to work with down the road.
“Maybe the goal is to become, in the eyes of the public, more Syngenta and less Monsanto,” Mano said.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Could Monsanto’s pursuit of rival Syngenta improve the company’s troubled image?
