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Some corporations are still struggling with the idea that the consumer is now king. Here are 3 case studies that prove the game has changed and heaven help anyone who still tries to play by the old rules.
Case Study 1: Horizon Realty vs Mouldy Tweet
Amanda Bonnen
On May 12, this year, Amanda Bonnen, who was living in this Chicago apartment block, sent this message on Twitter.
The tweet that launched a lawsuit - and sunk Horizon Realty's reputation.
How did her landlord, Horizon Realty, react? Did they race around with a bottle of Exit Mould, offer a month’s free rent and give her a box of chocolates?
No, they slapped her with a $50k lawsuit.
Horizon’s response is clearly old school. They didn’t believe their apartment was mouldy and they wanted to legally fight to protect their brand.
As the CEO said, “We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of organisation”.
But, is this a smart response? Well, consider this. At the time, Ms Bonnen sent her allegedly libellous tweet, she had just 20 followers. But the lawsuit brought worldwide attention – in both old and new media – and marshalled the world’s Twitter users against this real estate agency.
As one supporter said, “even the mafia give you a chance to make it good before they bring the hammer down.”
And as reported in the Chicago Reader: “For its troubles, Horizon has been roundly proclaimed as the dumbest company on earth. It brought a suit in response to the slightest of slights, which it unearthed itself. …. Horizon has only itself to blame for the resurrection of Bonnen’s tweet.
The case hasn’t yet been heard but the reputational verdict is already in and Horizon, you lose.
Case Study #2: Ford Motor Company vs TheRangerStation.com
The Ford Motor Company adopted a similar heavy-handed, old school approach.
The Ranger Station - the Ford fansite told to "cease and desist" by Ford.
A number of unofficial Ford fan sites had been around for quite a while – like The Ranger Station.com – which had been “serving Ranger, Bronco, Explorer and Mazda B-Series Owners since 1999.”
Yet, in December 2008, Ford sent letters to these sites telling them to “Cease and Desist” from using Ford trademarks – and to make a restitution payment of $5,000.
Again, was Ford within their legal rights to do this? Of course they were.
Was it a smart thing to do to people who view your logo with religious reverence? Not really.
And when the media got hold of the story it had all the makings of a PR Disaster – until Scott Monty, Ford’s Head of Digital Communications, stepped in.
The Social Media were spreading the venom, so there was only way Monty could administer the antidote before the patient flatlined – social media counter-attack. He bravely took to the Forums among the picketing fans and used Twitter to keep people up to date. In the end he arrived at a compromise solution and turned a potential debacle into a PR triumph. Notch up 1 for the new world approach.
Case Study #3: Burger King vs Caleb Kramer (aka TheBKLounge)
Now let’s look at one of the savviest online brands, Burger King.
Through their agency, Crispin Porter Bogusky, they’ve produced some of the most innovative campaigns of the digital era.
At the subservient chicken.com, people could type in a command and the chicken would do pretty much whatever you wanted.
With their Whopper Sacrifice campaign, Burger King invited you to sacrifice 10 of your Facebook friends for a Whopper.
So no-one was surprised in November 2008, when Burger King appeared on Twitter as The BK Lounge.
Well, no-one except Burger King – because it wasn’t their campaign.
Caleb Kramer (aka brandjacker TheBKLounge)
The BK Lounge was actually the unauthorised alter ego of one Caleb Kramer – an undergrad at Indiana University.
Now if Burger King had been playing by the old rules, they’d have sued this punk.
But, they didn’t.
And his following grew – partly because people were dying to know whether he was the official voice of Burger King or not.
When the BK Lounge sent this tweet to Whopper Virgins – another unofficial Burger King Twitter account – the rumours went into overdrive.
Chutzpah: the brandjacker tells another brandjacker to "cease and desist"
The brandjacker had the chutzpah to send a “Cease and Desist” notice to another brandjacker.
The social media telegraph lines were abuzz.
The BK Lounge generated more than 3000 followers on Twitter, and he twice made the top stories on Digg.
He crossed media boundaries to be covered in the LA Times, Advertising Age, and the Wall Street Journal, and became the subject of marketing case studies.
Mashable listed Burger King as one of the 40 Best brands on Twitter – without Burger King having to lift a finger.
But surely they couldn’t let this guy continue to be their unofficial voice on Twitter? No, they couldn’t. So they put him on the payroll.
If Burger King had come down hard on this brandjacker, they would not only have destroyed the brand value he’d created – for zero marketing expenditure – they’d have destroyed all the street cred they’d established through the hundreds of millions they’d spent on their official campaigns. Burger King proved that generally in the new social media it pays to be a lover and not a fighter.
What is the social media lesson?
Firstly, it’s that the social media isn’t there primarily to promote your brand.
When all these new channels appeared, marketing directors and agencies rubbed their hands together and thought, Yippee!, we’ve now got even more ways we can communicate with our customers.
But you don’t own the social media, you can’t buy them, and you try to control them at your peril.
Paul Worthington, Head of Strategy at Wolf Olins put it this way:
“In the wild west of social media, over-protection would seem to be the natural response when faced with loss of control over the conversation … yet this is almost certainly the wrong response.”
“Those brands that take the counter-intuitive path of celebrating their customers (even when they are infringing their IP) … will be the ones who will win.”
So should you just sit on your hands entirely and let the social media have their way with you?
No, you shouldn’t. But before letting your legal team off the leash, you should ask yourself 3 questions.
3 questions to ask before you unleash the legal rotweilers
Q1. Are they for you or agin you?
In the case of The Ranger Station and the BK Lounger, they were most definitely pro the brands.
If the infringers are fans, then you really have to question whether your brand will be enhanced or diminished by enforcing your legal rights. I know my enemy’s enemy is my friend, but making enemies of friends just leaves you with more enemies.
Q2. Is the impact positive or negative?
Most of your fans won’t have studied Brand 101, let alone consulted your Style Guide, and their efforts may offend your aesthetic. But they love you. And it is critical to remember that.
It’s amazing how these unofficial, amateur marketers can be incredibly effective at enhancing your brand.
Q3. Will taking action do more harm than good?
If you step in and exercise your legal rights, will you improve the situation – or, like the tough talking Horizon Realty CEO, just make it worse?
In the world of social media, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
And Richard Nixon has one final piece of advice
Tricky Dicky could have told you this: if you stuff up in the social media, don’t try to cover up.
You need to come clean, get down on your virtual knees and apologise – as Ford did. It might feel undignified, but the alternative can be speedy brand oblivion.
If you don’t want to get mugged by the social media mob, you need to demonstrate the 3 Rs: restraint, occasional remorse, and abiding respect.
Breaking News – Case Study 4: iSnack 2.0 vs Australia
iSnack 2.0 - killed by the Social Media
Kraft tried to get all hip and groovy by asking Australia to come up with names for their new Vegemite cheese spread. Smart. But then they failed to ask Australia what it thought of its choice BEFORE going into production. Not smart. Result? Product canned after 2 weeks.
Warning to social media refuseniks: David is now Goliath – and his slingshot has a nuclear warhead.
This is a summary of a presentation given by issociate director, Louise Kanis, on Oct 30 2009 to a round-table discussion organised by Sydney lawyers, Henry Davis York.
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