Preventable gaffes give you a bad rep for no reason. I realize that real-time is of the essence, but it’s better to take an extra 10 seconds to understand what you’re posting, then to make a mistake that gets written about for days to come – and makes you look insensitive and foolish.
From Union Street Guest House, to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and British Airways, to US Airways – and the list goes on and on, preventable gaffes happen to far too many. Most recently to DiGiorno Pizza.
DiGiorno Pizza’s foolish Twitter gaffe
There’s been a lot of discussion in the news and on social this week about battered women due to the video that TMZ released showing former Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, punching his then-girlfriend, Janay Rice, in the head until she dropped to the floor unconscious. From this, the hashtags #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft have been a trending discussion on Twitter, with women sharing their personal stories.
DiGiorno Pizza saw this trending hashtag and quickly tweeted the following to get in on the conversation. Only problem was, they didn’t take that quick 10 seconds to understand the meaning behind the hashtag before posting.
They quickly recanted, but that’s not the point. Had they taken the 10 seconds to do a risk analysis (or simply understand the use of the hashtag), “a million apologies” wouldn’t have been necessary.
A million apologies. Did not read what the hashtag was about before posting.
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) September 9, 2014
And this final tweet shows the depth of it.
We heard from many of you, and we know we disappointed you. We understand, and we apologize to everyone for this mistake.
— DiGiorno Pizza (@DiGiornoPizza) September 9, 2014
Why put yourself through this sort of preventable backlash? Their response was sincere, compassionate and heartfelt and they will be forgiven because it was a mistake and they were truly apologetic, but the point is it didn’t need to happen at all.
Don’t let this happen to you
Train your frontline to reflect and investigate before assuming and posting. It will save you from so much unnecessary trouble.
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
I wish someone could communicate to brands that not everyone can have their Oreo Superbowl moment. That brand took advantage of a current situation and used it brilliantly. And pretty much every other time I've seen a brand jump on a trend, it has been a major bust. Oreo clearly understood the brilliant, non-controversial opportunity. Everyone else couldn't click on the hashtag to read what the discussion was about before they co-opted it.
A fast response doesn't always equal a good response!
Admitting to outlandish stupidity is the first step toward begging for forgiveness. The social media team at DiGiorno Pizza really blew this one, no excuses- think before you post- and make sure your intent is genuine, and understand the meaning behind the trending hashtags etc. etc. etc!