‘Programmed messages don’t work’
We are living in an ‘always live’ world. Everyone everywhere is able to come out with a report, an opinion and does not have to depend on traditional media. As individuals, brands, celebrities and brand endorsers we all need to learn to live in a live and transparent world. And that is the first principle of the new world: You are always under scrutiny.
In this world, brands need to respond. None has the option of being honest when one wants to; you have to be upfront all the time. No complaint can go unheard and brands have to respond within 30 seconds to a maximum of a minute or face the backlash. That is the expectation. And the second principle of this world is: Respond always, respond quickly.
Programmed messages don’t work. Take the British Airways case, when Sachin Tendulkar tweeted about his lost baggage, they responded with a standard message and then everything blew up. Brands cannot afford to do that.
Finally the third principle: Brands must be mindful of their public behaviour. We have all been taught, growing up, what is acceptable behaviour inside and outside the home. Brands can’t afford to indulge in loose talk or slip up in their behaviour in a world where nothing is private.
Let us take recent cases where social media has slammed down on brand behaviour albeit in very different ways. For AI, here was an example of the third principle being flouted by the politician. He behaved badly, tried to justify it and that led to public support for the airline. In the case of UA, the airline flouted the third principle and was duly punished. Fair & Lovely is different; it is a product that is allowed to be made and hence has every right to be sold. But the brand must understand how to behave in public, recognise that qualities such as grooming or confidence building are more acceptable than fairness.