Some Bad Practices
The Domino’s story has been widely viewed as a cautionary story about how not
to handle growing public relations disaster in a real-time world. It has also been an
example showing how important brand protection, integrity and reputation are,
and the steps that can be put in place to protect the brand from social media attacks.
It all begins, in a small Domino’s franchise in North Carolina, when two employees posted a farce video of some unsanitary food-preparation practices. Within
limited time, thanks to the power and
reach of social media, there were more
than a million views on YouTube, a viral spread of the subject on Twitter and
five references on page one of a Google
search for Domino’s. The late reaction
and response of Domino’s made things
worsen quickly because the online conversation grew at a remarkable pace.
The company responded 48 hours after
the post of the video. Domino’s did not
issue a formal press release but did after all open a Twitter account to answer
questions and also posted a YouTube
apology to try to diffuse the public relations fiasco.
A
As previously mentioned, a trademark is a recognizable sign, design or expression
which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others.
Whereas in our everyday life we come across thousand examples of companies
with similar names. For example, the brand “Dove” is used both as
· Dove (chocolate), a Mars brand of chocolate named after the ice cream
· Dove (toiletries), an unrelated Unilever brand of soap and other personal care
products
Although Unilever Dove and Mars Dove are not a direct industry competitor, in the
mind of consumers the soap is recalled first and creates unfavorable associations
with Dove Chocolate. There exists a struggle among consumers to differentiate
Mars Dove from Unilever Dove. Sometimes consumers assume the two brands are
related. This is untrue and often disables Mars Dove to resonate over Unilever, especially because the promotional campaigns of the two brands boast creamy and
silky textures, and display a script logo with the image of a dove.
The cost to the Domino’s national
brand equity over the long term is still undetermined. Two recent surveys seemed
to indicate that it will take time for the national brand to recover. An online research
firm called YouGov confirmed that the perception of Dominos’ brand quality went
from positive to negative in approximately 48 hours. In addition, a national study
conducted by HCD Research using its Media Curves Web site found that 65% of
respondents who would previously visit or order Domino’s Pizza were less likely to
do so after viewing the offensive video.
The Domino’s incident taught us that our brands and our reputations are vulnerable in new and unexpected ways. It is true that new technology and new media
have empowered customers to take action as individuals and as parts of a collective
whole. From the corporate point of view, the decisions of generating bad news form
the company instantly signifies crisis that leads to the negative impact on brand,
sales, and word of advertisements. Also with the mass use of social media tools,
it doesn’t take a lot to damage a brand in today’s world. So this is a clear example
illustrating the importance of an online brand protection strategy for a company.
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