Retro Commercial – Radio Shack Cell Phones – 1990 – The most amazing bloopers are here

I thought this video was a pretty good response and imagine it has gone a long way to helping repair things. It’s good that they’ve tried to respond using the same medium that ultimately hurt them, and tried to engage on other platforms as well. Just slightly odd that he talks off camera (as if to a reporter) — surely this is a personal address/appeal to customers and should have been straight down the barrel.

Anyway, here are my thoughts:

It doesn’t really matter whether this is a franchise, an isolated incident or an event taking place in the US – the internet is global and this damages the brand globally. Consumers don’t necessarily know or care about the detail. The only thing that matters is you could be sitting 8000 miles away and now never go to Dominos again. Ouch.

A picture paints a thousand words. If ever there were an example of how powerful video can be in terms of a reputation story, this most be high up there.

Popular conscience. A story like this one around food hygiene is the stuff of legend– what people fear could go on inside a kitchen being shown as “true”. Doesn’t really matter if it is a hoax or joke. The perception is that this is what goes on. This kind of stuff inevitably flies online.

The power of one. In the old days it would have been much harder for one person (or I guess two people here) to damage a big brand like Dominos so much and so quickly. Nowadays it takes one person with a video camera who probably thought they were having a laugh. Compare with footage of the cops at the G20 protests.

So what lessons?

• Monitor the internet proactively to identify issues at an early stage
• Respond quickly using all means available to push the message out. The video started things here but the conversation quickly spread to Twitter and beyond meaning the company had to engage on other platforms as well.
• You can’t separate online and offline. This didn’t just happen on the internet, it quickly hit the papers and TV as well.
• If you are already involved in online conversations then you have a head start on someone who has to build from scratch. Just as in the offline world it takes time to form relationships with people you want to influence.
  

It can take a tough lesson to show the internet can be make and break. But it’s never too late to start thinking about that digital strategy.

(With this one, it’s the way they cleverly make suggestions about Mercedes, BMW and Lexus)

(This is simply brilliant in its no-nonsense approach — watch for the safety briefing)

(You’ve just got to love the drama of this one, particularly the voice over)

Videos of cats, pictures of cats, text about cats… it’s never ending out there on the internet and millions upon millions of us human are lapping up cat content. (Of the digital kind, not eating Whiskas.)

Thing is, the internet brings together niche communities in a way that’s logistically difficult if not impossible offline. Surely if you’re trying to reach people as part of a campaign with cat-related elements then digital has to be the way forward because there’s a ready-made community to engage. Extrapolate this and the internet is going to offer you a community (or the chance to build a community) around every niche imaginable.

Miss digital and you risk missing-out on engaging a passionate, ready-made, like-minded audience who are already sharing catty content.

Congratulations, cats, on your award!

[Disclaimer: I like cats and am trying to persuade my wife to let me get one]