If this week's Kraft Vegemite iSnack2.0 saga tells us anything, it's that the people are (generally) always right and brands that get it wrong need to quickly and publicly make amends if they want to remain in favour with the public.
The story so far...
Kraft created a new Vegemite product (for non-Australian readers, Vegemite is an iconic Australian brand, albeit one that is now owned by a US company).
Part of the promotion of this new product was a competition for the Australian public to name it. Kraft, cannily, launched the product in-store with the words NAME ME featured on the label. It sold heaps and some 48,000 entries were received. You could say this part of the promotion was a roaring success.
Then came phase two: Kraft's announcement of the product's new name - iSnack 2.0
Reaction was swift with the new name well and truly being held up to public ridicule and derision (and you'd have to say for good reason - let's just put it down to a momentary lapse in marketing judgement).
Anyway...
The tide of public opinion was so great that Kraft backflipped and within days had announced they'd be dropping the new name.
The company announced that a shortlist of names from the original promotion would be voted on by the people, and the entry with the most votes would become the name of the new Vegemite product.
Skeptics were many. A lot of social media chatter (traditional media journalists weighed in too) floated the theory Kraft had deliberately chosen a crap name for publicity purposes. Kraft deny it did any such thing.
The Lessons
Kraft did one thing well in particular: they listened to the public and quickly changed tack by dropping the iSnack 2.0 name.
THEY SUCKED IT UP! They took the hit and bent to the will of the people (classic PR tactic) rather than going back in to their shell like a lot of other companies would have done.
This was exactly the right thing to do.
Unfortunately, their press release smacked of defensive corporate speak (here's a sample):
"The new name simply has not resonated with Australians" - No, really? Why not tell it like it is - we made a mistake, the name sucks, and we're pulling it.
And this (in response to the allegation the whole thing has been a publicity stunt):
"We are proud custodians of Vegemite, and have always been aware that it is the people's brand and a national icon."
Guys, cut the jargon. Who talks like that (apart from inward-looking marketers)?
Another lesson: Make sure you get the domain name and Twitter handle. Others have beaten the brand to it and have had a great deal of fun at Kraft's expense.
No doubt Kraft is pissed at the level of criticism thrown at it - as my 12-year-old daughter acutely observed: "Companies hate being told they're wrong" - but under the circumstances, I think the brand has come out of this okay.
Yes, egos have been bruised and the marketing department is probably feeling a little dazed and confused right now, but the level of publicity has been huge and the new product will probably be a roaring sales success.
In true 2.0 form, the debacle reached such a level of notoriety that the wonderfully-named Epic Fail Store quickly whipped up a t-shirt to cash in on the controversy (below). Hat-tip psfk Good Ideas.
Further reading:
Crowdsourcing Done Wrong: the Vegemite iSnack Naming Disaster (Advertising Age - international recognition!)
Is iSnack 2.0 So Bad It's Good? (Anthill Online).
Names That Are Better Than iSnack 2.0 (dedicated iSnack 2.0 blog).
Vegemite iSnack 2.0 PR Response Turning a Debacle into a Disaster (Mumbrella - editor Tim Burrowes makes some good points about accessibility of corporate spokespeople).
Forget #Vegefail How About #SocialMediaMarketerFail (Online Marketing Banter by James Duthie).
Even Hitler wasn't impressed! (Via cc82)
