Johnson & Johnson’s Community Relations

As Jonathan Levine once said, “In community relations, you don’t know for years the effect you’ve had. Building good relations is like nurturing a friendship over years. In a crisis, you can turn to your friend in another…community and say ‘I need your help’”. For a company as globally large and prominent as Johnson & Johnson, one would believe their community relations is impeccable. Through investigation, I have come to the realization that this is close to the truth. Johnson & Johnson succeeds in almost all aspects of community relations.

One of the first major indicators that Johnson & Johnson is approaching community relations in the correct way is how easily accessible its community relations information page is. When an individual is to type in the key phrases “Johnson & Johnson Community Relations” to Google’s search engine toolbar, the J&J community relations page is the first link on the webpage results.

Johnson & Johnson’s “Our Giving” page, which serves as its community relations information platform, begins by making a simple yet bold statement: “Creating a Healthier World, One Community at a Time”. It is this statement that all of the company’s community involvement efforts fall under.

One may ask, what exactly does Johnson & Johnson do to show community support? The company has three main focuses when it comes to their community outreach efforts: saving and improving the lives of women and children, preventing disease among the most vulnerable and strengthening the health workforce. J&J uses their myriad of partnerships with scientists, technology experts and other professionals from the global academic and business communities to develop and market new products everyday. These products are then donated to individuals in need within their 3-tier community outreach focal group. For example, some of the community outreach programs Johnson & Johnson are currently involved in are Global Fund for Women’s Online Media Project, Global Motherhood, and Millenial Development.


The company webpage provides links on its “Our Giving” page to a detailed description of all of the abovementioned community outreach programs. Johnson & Johnson does not stop there, however. If one is interested in any additional information, or information on J&J’s community outreach in years prior, there are links to information pages on the “Our Giving” landing page as well.

When it comes to community relations, it is essential that a company’s outreach is tied to their mission statement. This connection is made flawlessly by Johnson & Johnson. Rather than leaving a consumer to make their own judgments as to whether or not the company’s efforts support their mission statement, J&J clearly spells out the connection. Underneath the company’s statement about creating healthier communities J&J states, “We fulfill our mission by developing enduring partnerships that deliver community-based solutions to health challenges”. Acknowledging that its community efforts should match its mission statement, and taking it a step further by writing it out on their community relations webpage is an effective and smart way for Johnson and Johnson to comfort consumers; this statement alone instills more trust in consumers, partners, and other key publics that any funds donated to J&J’s causes will be used ethically and efficiently.

Johnson & Johnson’s thorough approach to community relations acts as great public relations for the company. Having all of the information on one landing page, providing clear connections between the mission statement and outreach, providing links to both the outreach J&J is currently involved in as well as what they have been in involved in throughout the past are all elements that contribute to a great sense of community involvement. In addition to all of these things, Johnson & Johnson also has a Twitter handle (@JNJGlobalHealth) that creates tweets regarding their community projects as well as posts relevant articles for consumers.

Although Johnson & Johnson almost flawlessly executes community relations, there is always room for minor improvements. As an individual interested in the company’s outreach, I seemed to be searching for an informational element that was not simply written; in other words, I was looking for some sort of visual that would bring J&J’s outreach initiatives to life. After a YouTube search I came across a series of videos from Johnson & Johnson’s All You Love campaign (Example Video) This series of videos brings to life the company’s commitment to caring, and furthermore their commitment to the community. Had Johnson & Johnson provided videos such as these to their “Our Giving” page I believe their community relations would appear even stronger to a potential consumer, partner, etc.

Overall, Johnson & Johnson is seemingly a company as involved in the community as it is in the business side of things. This appearance can enhance the company’s reputation exponentially, and in the long run increase business