During our Google+ Hangout with Mark W. Schaefer (@markwschaefer
on Twitter) on Tuesday evening, I asked him which social media platform or
strategy he recommended to increase traffic to our blogs for our graduate
course. His quick response was, “Twitter!” He explained that companies of all sizes can
use Twitter to attract passionate influencers, connect with them, and turn them
into brand influencers (Schaefer, 2015) .
Celebrities are often used by companies to influence consumers and
connect with them to like a specific brand, product, etc. Most of the time they are helping the
company, but sometimes they create negative publicity.
This was the case when Aflac Insurance fired Gilbert
Gottfried for insensitive jokes he tweeted related to the Japanese earthquake
and tsunami that devastated Japan back in March 2011.
“Japan is
really advanced. They don’t go to the
beach. The beach comes to them.”
“I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent. I said, ‘Is there a school in this area.’ She said, ‘Not now, but just wait.”
It's not surprising that Aflac fired him for being
offensive, but also because the company does 75% of its business in Japan! Although there was an uproar and a lot of
negative publicity surrounding Gottfried’s comments, Aflac didn’t suffer too
badly. They fired him almost immediately
and gave the International Red Cross 100 million yen ($1.2M) to aid in disaster
relief (CNN-WireStaff, 2011) .
Everyone can appreciate a good joke and likes to
laugh, but never at the expense of someone else or at the risk of damaging the
brand of a major company…especially one you work for! I would have taken the same exact actions
that Michael Zuna did, Aflac’s senior vice president and chief marketing office,
and fired Gottfried. Not doing so could’ve
been detrimental to the company because it conducts ~75% of its business in Japan.
I was not able to find any information related to
Aflac’s social media marketing policy or guidelines; however, I agree with Scott. “Rather than focus on putting guidelines on
blogs and other social media like Facebook and Twitter (the technology), it is
better to focus on guiding the way people behave” (Scott, 2013) .
If used properly and efficiently, social media can be
used to strategically influence customers and other influencers, possibly resulting in free marketing. It is important for companies to have social
media guidelines in place to limit undesirable publicity or sentiment. Otherwise, be prepared for a marketing roller coaster ride...
Works
Cited
CNN-WireStaff. (2011, March 11). Comedian Gilbert
Gottfried fired as voice of Aflac duck. Retrieved from CDD:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/03/14/georgia.aflac.duck/
Schaefer, M. W. (2015, February 24). Google+ Hangout w/ Mark
W. Schaefer. (M. C. Class, Interviewer)
Scott, D. M. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR:
How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news
releases, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly. (4 ed.).
Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Thanks for the informative post. Any company dealing with influencers today should know they are taking a risk when they decide to utilize a third party influencer to interact with the public on the companies behalf.
ReplyDeleteI think a clear set of guidelines is a good way to start dealing with influencers and social media. Although, companies need to be careful that they don't put so many guidelines in place the language of interaction becomes dry. People don't want propaganda today. They want real interaction. With the correct guidelines this can be done and companies can still benefit from utilizing popular influencers.
Hi Loren, thanks for the reply and feedback. I agree that companies are taking on a risk when the decide to utilize a third party influence, but as the same time, these are often the most influential. For example, Michael Jordan and Hanes. Where would Hanes be without MJ? What about Victoria's Secret without the models? I think in today's world there needs to be even more emphasis on clearly articulated guidelines that are signed off. Some of the comments made in the past by influential people have caused large issues for a lot of companies. Many would argue that takes away your freedom of speech, but you’re getting paid. There’s no tolerance for racism, prejudice, or verbal abuse on one or many persons.
DeleteHi Andrew – Excellent example! I remember reading about this in news coverage. Gottfried’s comments reflected poorly on both himself and the company he represented, Aflac. This also makes me think about the risk associated with celebrity endorsers and what protocols Aflac had in place to ensure Gottfried represented Aflac in a favorable light in front of all forms of media, especially social media. While Gottfried may have thought he was being funny, his tweet was insensitive and unfortunately went viral, which is one of the main consequences (both good and bad) of social media.
ReplyDeleteWe learned this week about the value of a corporate social media policy, as well as having a plan in place when a crisis arises. As Kerpen says, "As long as you create a plan in advance, and as long as you're able to publicly, quickly, and authentically say you're sorry, you can maintain a strong brand reputation in the face of a social media challenge" (p. 197). In Aflac’s case, this was a major social media challenge! They excelled in quickly taking action. You mentioned Aflac's immediate steps were to fire Gottfried and donate to The Red Cross. Did Aflac communicate any of these actions via social media? If you were Michael Zuna and charged with running social media for Aflac, what steps would you have taken to mitigate this situation online?
Works Cited
Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook (& other social networks). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hi Mary – Nicely done putting together our assignment for this week’s topic. Unfortunately, I think companies need to think twice before hiring comedians to be spokespeople or brand/product influencers. Most comedians earn a living by joking about others, sometimes it may offend people, but at the end of the day they’re joking. There is a fine line though between professional and unprofessional. I follow my own rule: if it’s questionable, I don’t act – it’s simply not worth it. There’s just too many risks hiring people to represent your company that focus on making people laugh at any expense. In Gottried’s case, he probably acted without thinking as it’s natural for him.
DeleteAflac used a variety of methods to make ammends, including social media. They fired Gottfried quickly, which mitigated the risk to the organization and minimized the spread of information as best as possible. Aflac aired a short silent TV commercial that communicated the need for a new voice for its duck that did not mention Gottfried, which was brilliant because it did not reintroduce the problem. Michael Zuna, VP & CMO, released a statement, an appropriate step from a high-level executive. Aflac then planned a competition with Monster.com to find the new voice of its duck. They created a website for it called quackaflac.com and Aflac duck Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aflacduck?ref=br_tf . I would have mimicked the actions taken by Aflac and if I were ever in a situation similar to theirs, would use their technique as a guideline to help navigate my company through the crisis. I couldn’t find any evidence, but if they didn’t, I would’ve also taken the comments made by Zuna and plastered them all over the different social media platforms.
Hi Andrew –
DeleteI agree with you that Aflac handled the crisis very well, especially by immediately cutting ties with Gottfried and moving on. However, this situation must have made Aflac think about amending its current social media policy to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Scott suggests to guide the way people behave with social media guidelines, instead of draconian command-and-control measures (Scott, 2012, pg. 92). Considering Scott's position, how would you specifically amend Aflac’s social media policy to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again, especially with celebrity endorsers? What guidance would you provide? Would you put more emphasis on training and messaging? How about personal use vs. corporate use?
Reference
Scott, D. (2013). The new rules of marketing & PR: How to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, & viral marketing to reach buyers directly (3rd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons
Mary, I would incorporate the new company guidelines in mandatory trainings with a deadline and a minimum passing percentage. Celebrities would also have mandatory trainings. Their contracts would have a clause where they are not only terminated for acting outside of the guidelines, but also incur fines of monetary value to set a precendence for future influencers.
DeleteAwesome insights! I think trainings would be especially effective. Final question: How would you apply your ideas to your current company's social media policy and/or social media crisis plan? Would you make any changes or additions?
DeleteHi Mary – solid final question. Mark W. Schaefer was quite high on SAP’s management of their social media during our Google+ hangout earlier this week. I would 2x check to make sure SAP has a solid plan in place because it is important to be prepared to act before the crisis occurs. If they do not, I would follow the plan I outlined in my aforementioned post.
DeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great example. I had forgotten about this since Aflac did such a good job covering the removal of Gottfried by being creative with their commercials that involved the duck and having him “relearn” his quack. This example brings up a good point of the necessity of being self-aware when using social media. Gottfried’s comedy is typically more raw and sometimes not as we say politically correct. Gottfried seemed to forget that social media is a public forum and not the confines of a comedy club or paid performance in which people expect to be shocked, thus receive an entertainment value. Sometimes people how try to entertainer with jokes or other content in a public type media realize backlash that was unanticipated due to the fact that the content reaches people who were not seeking that type of message. Do you think that Aflac took on extra risk by using a comedian that had that type of act? Do you think that organizations need to be more aware of endorsers’ personal social media efforts before making the choice for them to represent their brand even if it is as such as small component as the quack of a duck?
Hi Shawn - thanks for the reply and insight. I agree that Gottfried is a little more ‘raw’ and ‘politically incorrect.’ I think you said it better than I, that he forgets he’s not in the confines of a comedy club and can’t act the same way on social media that he does when in a paid performance. I think Aflac took a huge risk by hiring him, and more specifically, a comedian. It is well known that in comedy, one must often cross a line to make people laugh. Yes, organizations need to closely monitor their prospective endorsers’ social media accounts before approaching them for a deal. Even if they are cleared before the initial approach, they should be forces to take part in the company trainings and understand the guidelines. The influencers have to realize that yes they’re sacrificing some of their freedom of speech, but they’re getting paid.
DeleteHi Andrew,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example! I actually had not heard about this, so I found your post really interesting. This type of social media exposure is tricky because the spokesperson in this case is someone who is known for being a little outrageous when it comes to his comments. For organizations who decide to partner with spokespeople like this, they need to understand the implications of being associated with certain types of public personalities. I think this is something that Aflac should have seriously considered before they formed a relationship with Gottfried.
Really interesting post!
Thanks!
Allie