Social Web Amplifies AIG Advertising Ironies

AIG's ad message irony: a theme of 'Strength to Be There' sparks a campaign pullout. But the social web never forgets as links and WOM spreads virally.




And this blogger received a direct mailer (and topped Digg ranks yesterday) from AIG asking: "If Disaster Strikes, Will You Have The Protection You Need?".

Perhaps marketers will need to audit their brands' vulnerability in a worst case scenario where the product/company can't deliver on the ad message - in a big public way. This, of course, is the eternal bane of advertiser's existence - the nagging worry that "what if my client can't deliver on our big brand idea?"


via AdAge and IPoopDaily.com

The Power of WE: Observations on the Worldwide Skype Outage

I'm sure most of you are familiar with the internet phone app Skype. Earlier this week the service went down worldwide, and the estimated +200 million users world wide were left Skype-less, myself included.


While I was initially incredibly irritated (still am actually, as I still cannot connect), what I thought was interesting was watching how the blogosphere reacted as the company responded to the problem- which apparently, for many, was just not fast or efficiently enough, which pushed some to start an online petition protesting what they feel is just the latest in poor service (see: users unleashing some fury on a previous incident).

Yet another reminder of how powerful blogs and web 2.0 technology at our fingertips truly is. The level of transparency and accountability we can demand from the companies we choose to do biz with- and how instantaneously they allow us to act- is truly incredible. It took minutes, not hours, after the service went down before the blogs were on fire, lambasting Skype service and pointing out that this was no isolated incident.

It wasn't too long ago that companies got away with telling us what they wanted us to know, when they wanted us to know it. Now they themselves feel the heat of us watching the watchers so much that they keep us updated almost hourly with what they are doing to address the situation. Though I'd say that it's still lacking, as there have been few details released, nor a clear time line as to when all systems will be a go.

But at this point, "updates" are becoming "irritation" as I am still Skype-less...

What is "sorry" enough?

Mattel hit a rough patch. Its toys are being pulled from shelves left and right, and, maybe worse yet, for a variety of problems, from choking hazards to lead paint.

The tide started with a recall two weeks ago, and, as AdAge points out, Mattel decided to rely on the news media to deploy its heartfelt apologies. Then, more recalls and full page ads in the WSJ, NYT, and USA Today. Mattel is sorry and now it’s paying to tell you so. And if you happen to be on the website, the company put together a video address from Chairman-CEO Bob Eckert.

I have been thinking about managing disaster more than usual lately with the local response to our city’s bridge collapse. I walked around in the on a neighboring bridge the day 35W fell and was surrounded by thousands of other people who just couldn’t stay in their living rooms any longer, who needed to get out and feel like there were still other people out there. After disaster, people want to gather and feel comforted by community.

Later that night, police shut the walking bridge. It stayed closed for a week. The bridge that connects the city, where tourists take photos of our skyline and new theater, a bridge on countless runners’ and bikers’ daily routes. The city didn’t realize that, when it shut down the bridge, it did more than further complicate transportation. It closed a gathering place for healing. Where people could have left flowers or flags or notes or just paused for a minute to reflect on the intensity of what happened. There was no place for us to socialize what happened, to make sense of it and figure it into our reality.

Is Mattel’s reaction to endangering millions of people’s kids was not only recycled straight from the handbook of “how to save face when you've f-ed up,” but it’s one-way in a time when we are communal. Mattel needs its bridge, and if it does things right, it can own “recuperation.” Set up a smartly-played online community, start a news feed updating the percentage of tainted product that are reeled in, solicit input from moms and dads of places they’ve seen the recalled products. Give people a chance to feel like they can DO something.

Politics 2.0: Post-Debate, Obama Has Work Cut Out For Him

Riding the tails of Sarah's post on the Democratic CNN/YouTube debates, an article in the Economist showed the Barack is trailing in some key markets where he should be performing strong. For example, in South Carolina, more than half of the states black primary electorate are actually pulling for Hillary over him.


The article goes on to say that this is not for lack of any star power, but his challenge is a difficult one: clearly communicating to black voters that he understands their concerns while also attracting white suburban voters.

This is really shaping up to be an interesting election, especially when compared with the last one where all we had was a choice between the lesser of two evils. Combine this with the fact that, according to CNN, the leading Republican candidate among Republican voters is none of the above, with nearly 25% unwilling to back the leading Rep candidates. And even better, none of them seemed to have gained any sort of clear advantage among the Christian right.

A last comment on the YouTube debates, I'll be very interested to see how the Republicans handle themselves when they get theirs in September.

Truth Awareness:Delta Flight 6499

Robert McKee made a YouTube of his experience being stuck on the JFK tarmac for seven hours.

And now you see it too. 464 viewers today. Lets see where this goes.

Oh, did I mention this is Delta Airlines?

Notice that crying baby throughout the video. Nice.

The ubiquity, ease, and low cost of consumer recording, editing and sharing software is quickly making it less feasible for big companies to get away with stuff like this.

via Consumerist

Hactivism: Home Depot Forced to Respond to Message Board

The web continually enables the masses to not only whine and complain, but actually channel a loud enough voice to force change from brands and corporations.

Consider this: after readers flooded MSN Money's message boards with tales of lousy service, Home Depot's new top executive says change is on the way!

Last week, MSN Money published a column by Scott Burns that focused on customer-service problems at Home Depot.

The response was overwhelming: THOUSANDS of readers posted messages on the MSN Money boards and more than 10,000 took the added steps of e-mailing editors to MSN to share their own stories of time wasted at Home Depot's stores. Oh, and did I mention that Home Depot is in a announced a 28% decline in earning for 4Q, and same store sales are down 6.6%?

In response to message board outcry, Home Depot’s new CEO, Frank Blake, posted his own message promising change. Below is his posted promise of change:


I'm Frank Blake, the new CEO for The Home Depot. I've read a number of the postings on the MSN message board (unfortunately, there were a lot of them), and we've dispatched a dedicated task force -- working directly with me -- that is ready and willing to address each and every issue raised on this board. Please give us the chance.

There's no way I can express how sorry I am for all of the stories you shared. I recognize that many of you were loyal and dedicated shoppers of The Home Depot . . . and we let you down. That's unacceptable. Customers are our company's lifeblood – and the sole reason we have been able to build such a successful company is because of your support. The only way we're going to continue to be successful is by regaining your trust and confidence . . . and we will do that.
We've already taken steps to cure many of the ills discussed on this message board:

We will be and already are increasing our staffing in the stores.

We're also in the early stages of launching a nationwide program to recruit and hire skilled master tradespeople to staff our stores so that our customers receive the kind of service and expertise that made The Home Depot great.
We're investing significantly in the appearance of our stores to make them an easier and more fun place to shop.

And we're making it clear to all our associates that nothing is more important than you, the customer. Every associate knows that his or her number one job is to make you smile and to help you solve your home improvement problem … no matter how big or how small.

But the real judge of all of these changes we’re making is you. All I ask is that you please give us the opportunity to win you back. When you enter our stores, you should receive a personal greeting. After that, you should encounter a helpful associate who will walk you to find the tools, material or service you need. If you don’t, please let us know . . . just like Scott Burns did.

A response box has been opened at wehearyou@homedepot.com

More Hactivism +/+/+


via Consumerist