By Kim Deppe
In a stunning lack of sensitivity, the CEO of Barilla pasta told an Italian interviewer that the company would not feature homosexual couples in its advertising because that didn't fit the company's idea of family. When the CEO's interview was published, the social media world exploded with condemnation and calls for boycotting the brand. The hapless CEO then compounded his problems with a strange "apology" that demeaned women by implying that the only family he pictured is one with the woman in the kitchen doing the cooking. One supposes he means only a heterosexual woman.
And so begins the brand's crisis and probable decline in sales. A few sentences that spread like wildfire across social media by a CEO will have, I predict, a tremendous impact on sales of their pasta in the U.S., if not worldwide. Within hours #boycott barilla was trending on Twitter and it was all over the national news that night.
My point is this: if you think social media is not important to your business, please re-read the first two paragraphs of this post. The Barilla CEO is just the latest casualty in a series of brand-damaging remarks made by company leaders - think Chick-Fil-A, the Boy Scouts, Papa John's Pizza, etc. All of them suffered some damage to their brands after remarks that were picked up across social media and condemned by large numbers of people. In some cases, this damage is short-term and it will be interesting to see if Barilla will face a lasting problem.
If you are not engaging in social media right now, then you should at least be monitoring it. Do you even know if people are out there talking about your company on social media? Your brand is extremely important to the success of your company, so listening to social media is the bare minimum that you should be doing. After all, if you do not manage your brand, I assure you it will be managed for you by someone else!
In a stunning lack of sensitivity, the CEO of Barilla pasta told an Italian interviewer that the company would not feature homosexual couples in its advertising because that didn't fit the company's idea of family. When the CEO's interview was published, the social media world exploded with condemnation and calls for boycotting the brand. The hapless CEO then compounded his problems with a strange "apology" that demeaned women by implying that the only family he pictured is one with the woman in the kitchen doing the cooking. One supposes he means only a heterosexual woman.
And so begins the brand's crisis and probable decline in sales. A few sentences that spread like wildfire across social media by a CEO will have, I predict, a tremendous impact on sales of their pasta in the U.S., if not worldwide. Within hours #boycott barilla was trending on Twitter and it was all over the national news that night.
My point is this: if you think social media is not important to your business, please re-read the first two paragraphs of this post. The Barilla CEO is just the latest casualty in a series of brand-damaging remarks made by company leaders - think Chick-Fil-A, the Boy Scouts, Papa John's Pizza, etc. All of them suffered some damage to their brands after remarks that were picked up across social media and condemned by large numbers of people. In some cases, this damage is short-term and it will be interesting to see if Barilla will face a lasting problem.
If you are not engaging in social media right now, then you should at least be monitoring it. Do you even know if people are out there talking about your company on social media? Your brand is extremely important to the success of your company, so listening to social media is the bare minimum that you should be doing. After all, if you do not manage your brand, I assure you it will be managed for you by someone else!
Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.
