Arguably 2011 has been an interesting year in the ‘Chinese’ curse sense of the word. First there was that uncertainly about the stability of the Eurozone, then the planet seemed to overheat as natural disasters struck some of the world’s largest economic zones and, to top it all off, the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan went into near meltdown.
So you can forgive a little the fact that in the online world some of the largest ‘brands’ in the business managed to get it wrong. Being a ‘brand’ these days is lot less about logos and bricks-mortar stores and everything about approach, style, industry type and, of course, public perception.

With 2011 about half way over there have already been ten brand disasters of the type which makes you wonder if there is anyone at all awake at the marketing helm. Let’s take a look at some of them and what can be learnt from each experience.

1. Christianity gets it wrong – As brands go the Christian church enjoys an unrivalled image, a loyal following and the kind of belief system which, on paper at least, is hard to argue against, (turn the other cheek, love your neighbour as you would love thyself and so on). So it’s with some considerable surprise that we get  not just one but two major cases where their image gets a bloody nose. First, Pastor Terry-Jones threatens to publicly burn the Koran in a stunt which has some very serious and far-reaching effects as far afield as the battlefields of Afghanistan. Then, some Christians went public with an ‘end of days’ prediction which, predictably, did not go off as planned.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: the web is a very public place and nothing ever goes away. Treat it carefully, think before you act and promise only what you are certain you can deliver.

2.  Facebook’s Zuckerberg strikes one for killing your own meat – in a misguided attempt at ingénues, Mark Zuckerberg stated that for the whole of this year he eats only meat he kills and that has ‘made him more vegetarian’. For an internet person who ‘gets’ the web the problem here is not what Mark does but how he managed (or not as the case clearly is) to get his message across. He became, in the process the subject of countless anecdotes and internet stories as well as the butt of jokes in the Press.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: The ‘how’ is just as important as the ‘what’. Be careful how you get your message across if you do not want it to be hijacked, misconstrued and misrepresented.

3. Global arms manufacturer has laz security – Lockheed  Martin is synonymous with the arms industry. The company produces some of the scariest weapons systems on the planet. So, quite rightly, you expect it to live up to its reputation when it comes to cyber-security. Apparently not, as it turns out. The firm was cyber-attacked and its system compromised.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: Stand behind the promise of your brand or see it suffer.

4. Trump, trumps himself – After Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump simply has to be the next best ‘Great Communicator’. The man managed to cast himself in the spotlight when he ran for President of the United States. Then, proving that he is as fallible as the rest of us when it comes to marketing strategy, he disastrously shot himself in the foot by becoming the driving force behind the birther issue and President Obama, becoming in the process the laughing stock for millions.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: Never take too seriously your own hype.

5. GoDaddy Elephant Hunt – Bib Parsons is controversial by nature. A Texan who believe sin being outspoken he rarely pulls his punches. He apparently enjoys the odd game hunt. That, as vices go may not be too extreme given the predilections of some of the world’s elected officials, but he crossed the line for many and caused an outrage against his company when he posted a graphic video in which he appeared to revel in the kill of an elephant. He did try to backtrack a little and present it in a different light but by then the damage had been done.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: Careful how you present yourself when your personal identity and your business one are so closely intertwined.

6. Warren Buffet scandal – Warren Buffet has succeeded over the years to create a massive financial empire based upon the quality of his insights and the performance of the funds his company manages. When one of his own went down for insider trading his company’s image doubtlessly took a hiding. Although the company itself was the whistle blower in this case the fact that they did not move fast enough to explain their position and what they did had unexpected fallout which hurt their bottom line.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: Play by the rules and make sure you are seen to do so.

7. Abercrombie & Fitch controversy – The upmarket brand has often been known for pushing the envelope when it comes to advertising and sexuality. When it came to promoting a children’s push-up bra however it had clearly over-stepped a line. Although the company agreed to change its merchandise there was some marketing and sales fallout as a result.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: There is a fine line between being a market leader and becoming a pariah. Tread that line with care.

8. TransOcean insensitivity – TransOcean Ltd are the company whose Gulf of Mexico oil rig blew up last year and created the largest eco-disaster of the century (so far). When its chief executive then publicly called 2010 ‘our best year ever’ he displayed remarkable insensitivity towards the memory of the victims and eco-protesters the fallout of which may be coming for some time.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: When you represent your company think carefully before you speak.

9. General Electric gets a bloody nose – General Electric is, in the public mind, a company which stands for America and the American way. At a time when the American public is being asked to foot more taxes than ever it comes as a shock to find out that GE pays no taxes at all. With the inevitable marketing backlash.

Marketing Lesson Learnt:  Do not cheat to win.

10. Facebook uses bully-boy tactics – Facebook was, always, the underdog when it came to comparisons with Google. So it is with some surprise that it turned out it hired a PR firm to attack Google’s reputation. This caused many Facebook proponents to start rethinking their position.

Marketing Lesson Learnt: Focus on what you are really good at and do not get involved in negative marketing.

Hopefully these lessons are something which will help you with the development of your own online marketing. If you require any assistance at all do not hesitate to get in touch with us and one of our marketing experts will be in touch to help with your query.

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