The internet and its power to shake a brand

shikapatho

At the end of 2016, a common situation happened on the internet. A brand became the target of controversy. If you are not aware of the Alezzia case , I suggest reading this article .
The situation is complicated. We could come to the conclusion that good crisis management would end up solving this problem. But there is a small detail that perhaps crisis management manuals do not deal with so easily, due whatsapp data  its unpredictability: the internet. She can transform any hero into a villain, she can disturb, bother, help and hinder. Taking a company to heaven and hell. Or all of this at the same time.

Leaving your opinion on social movements aside, put yourself in Alezzia's shoes. What would you do? Would your brand be a hero or a villain?



In my view, the company got off to a bad start. The exposure of the female body in out-of-context situations has been causing a negative impact for a long time, proof of this is that even beer brands have gradually stopped making use of female sensuality. Women in advertising are no longer the reference for beauty. Therefore, the way the campaign was carried out, in the case of Alezzia, it was already to be expected that it would cause controversy. It's hard to think that managers didn't know this. But after doing what he did. How could the situation be reversed? In this case, an apology wouldn't do any good, after all, we're talking about the internet. The company could try to portray itself in different ways and it would be difficult to get out of this situation.

The decision to boost positive evaluations through philanthropy was very intelligent, despite having announced in advance who would be the recipient of the donations, which ended up making the AACD page the target of indignation. Perhaps a better decision would be to revert the donation to an institution focused on NGOs that encourage women's struggles.
But at the end of the day the internet is like this, “either you die a hero, or you live long enough to become a villain”. After all, at one time or another, your brand will displease someone.