Brand Bloopers
I was putting together a branding masterclass a few weeks ago and included some examples of when brands get it very wrong. I thought I had included some of the best, however I was running a marketing course yesterday and one of the delegates brought this one to my attention. Although it has been viewed by over 8 million people on You Tube, it had passed right underneath my marketing radar. It is a video posted by a guy who was upset with United Airlines as they broke his guitar. He tried to get them to admit responsibility and replace his guitar,but he had no joy. So he wrote a song about it and put it up on You Tube, it went viral and the rest is history. It has damaged the United Airlines brand and although there is some ongoing litigation, it hasn’t done them any favours. So take note, your brand is about so much more than just your logo.
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On the one hand, brands just have to ensure their customer service is as good as it can be.
Secondly, brands, also, have to be philosophical about things like this. They’re going to happen from time-to-time. And learn how to take the blow on the chin. And how to respond to the blow in as positive a way as possible. Do something creative, something like: “we’re giving the guy a brand new guitar and tickets to a great gig etc ..” in fact they could turn it on its head where the guy benefits from the mishap, and, also, the brand by doing something creative and unexpected and big that impresses audiences.
At the end of day, everyone knows that perfection (in brands and things in general) is impossible. But everyone can respond in a positive way when things go wrong (instead of turning to litigation as the first response).
What you think?