Brands Beware

 

In December 2008, Oliver Beale, a passenger traveling on Virgin Atlantic from Mumbai to London, was so disturbed by his in-flight meal that he wrote a complaint letter to Richard Branson, complete with photos of the food. Copies of the letter spread rapidly via e-mail and the story was quickly picked up by bloggers and traditional media. To read Oliver Beale’s letter follow this link: The best complaint letter ever?
In response to the media attention surrounding the letter, Virgin Atlantics public-relations team quickly got out the message on Facebook that Mr. Branson had personally phoned Mr. Beale and invited him to help select food and wine for future flights. According to Paul Charles, a Virgin Atlantic spokesman, “Our response was so fast, some people even accused us of setting the whole thing up as a publicity stunt, We took that as a compliment.”

Letter Excerpt: “It appears to be in an evidence bag from the scene of a crime. A CRIME AGAINST BLOODY COOKING. Either that or some sort of back-street underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast.”

 
Honestly, this is one of the funniest letters I have ever read and it shows how quickly a company’s brand can be damaged through social media if they are not prepared with the correct response when issues arise. In this case Virgin Atlantic got off easy, Richard Branson made a call to Oliver and everyone had a nice laugh about the situation and now both Oliver and Virgin Atlantic have tons of publicity to help them sleep at night.
But as the recent United Airlines guitar debacle shows, this is not always the case. Twitter, Facebook and other social media are changing the world of consumer complaints and brands must remain aware that consumers can and will use social media to tell their side of the story.

Could Twitter and GupShup Become Life Lines in India?

The horrific attacks in Mumbai gave the world a preview of the potential impact social media has on the nation of India.

Just moments after the news of the terrorist attacks broke, the social media environment became flooded with flickr photos, eyewitness tweets, Facebook messages, and user-generated video reports.

According to CNN, an estimated 80 tweets were being sent via SMS every five seconds, providing eyewitness accounts and updates.

And while many Twitter users sent pleas for blood donors to visit specific hospitals in Mumbai during and after the attacks, the Indian Red Cross Society did not appear to use Twitter or any other social media platform to reach potential donors.

Humanitarian organizations in India like the Red Cross should take note of the fact that social media can be an effective way to engage both citizens and donors.

Here’s why:

1. Low cost: The economic downturn has resulted in fewer donors and cuts to marketing budgets.  More non-profits in India will need to begin relying on low-cost marketing tools like social media to reach donors in a meaningful way.
2. Efficient. Emergency information can be distributed to citizens and donors more quickly through social media channels, particularly through microblogging services such as Twitter.  Even optimized press releases can take hours to reach a target audience during a critical period.  Social media is instantaneous and viral.
3. Engaging.  Nothing pulls at donors’ heartstrings like images of their fellow citizens.  YouTube videos and photos on flickr can serve as powerful tools to motivate donors to become more involved in a cause or specific campaign.

There are over 1 million Twitter users in India, sending 3 million messages per day.  SMS GupShup, a Twitter-like service in India, has 20 million members sending over 10 million messages per day.

The Indian Red Cross Society could have made a call for blood donors via Twitter and GupShup seconds after the Mumbai attacks.  Including a link in the message could have led donors to locations in Mumbai where donations were needed.

Further, these “Red Cross authenticated” messages could have helped potential blood donors avoid confusion given the multitude of blood donation-related tweets that emerged after the attacks.

Mumbai taught us that, during times of strife, people across India are willing to help and have stories to tell.  It’s up to humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross to empower these citizens with the right tools to reach out and share these experiences.