2. #Cairo
Kenneth Cole is an American clothing brand named
after the designer himself
February 3, 2011- Kenneth Cole used uprising in Cairo
to promote spring collection
Used the trending topic #Cairo to create buzz and
generate traffic to website
Tweet provided direct link to collection
3. How the public reacted
Public was outraged by the offensive tweet
Kenneth Cole seen as insensitive toward the situation in
Egypt
Negative comments toward brand on the internet
"And the day's award for corporate insensitivity goes to:
Kenneth Cole," wrote Nick McMaster on Newser
Fake Twitter feed @KennethColePR mocked
designer
“People of Haiti, fall into our store for earth-shattering
savings! #KennethColeTweets”
“People from New Orleans are flooding into Kenneth Cole
stores! #KennethColeTweets”
6. How Kenneth Cole reacted
Took down post within a few hours
Apologized for tweet on Twitter and Facebook
Laura Kline, spokeswoman for Kenneth Cole,
confirmed that the designer himself had written the
original tweet and the apology
7. Kenneth Cole’s apology
“I apologize to everyone who was offended by my
insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve
dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious
social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor
regarding a nation liberating themselves against
oppression was poorly timed and absolutely
inappropriate.”
- Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer
9. How Celeb Boutique reacted
Public had similar reaction
Celeb Boutique also took down tweet and publicly
apologized right away
CB said that they didn't check what the trend meant
"We are incredibly sorry for our tweet about Aurora - Our
PR is NOT US based and had not checked the reason for
the trend, at that time our social media was totally
UNAWARE of the situation and simply thought it was
another trending topic - we have removed the very
insensitive tweet and will of course take more care in
future to look into what we say in our tweets. Again we
do apologize for any offense caused. This was not
intentional & will not occur again. Our most sincere
apologies for both the tweet and situation. - CB"
10. Impact on Kenneth Cole
Brand
Tweet was harmful to brand image
Overall reputation was not severely harmed
Crisis not in the news for very long
Handled crisis well
Not involved in other major crises
Kenneth Cole as a person and CEO
Directly said it
However reputation was not severely harmed either
Supports other social causes that positively portray him
Intentional?
11. Impact on industry and public relations
Social media is huge today
Directly interact, build relationships and inform
Companies need to monitor their social media 24/7
Companies should be respectful of current events
Not capitalize on them!
“Hijacking” hashtags
Changes meaning of hashtag
Influence of social media in crisis
Sent instantaneously- everyone can see right away
Company can respond to crisis right away
Need to check and confirm information before it goes viral
Think about audience- put yourself in their position BEFORE
posting
12. The Page Principles
“Listen to the customer”
Original tweet made company seem insincere
Customers didn’t think tweet was funny
Didn’t fulfill public’s wants and needs
“Tell the truth”
Acknowledged situation and publicly apologized
Didn’t just take down post or justify position
“Prove it with action”
Acted immediately
Didn’t wait to respond
“Realize a company’s true character is expressed by its
people”
Kenneth Cole himself had written tweet and apology
Face of the company