I disagree
I mean, you're right about internet allowing an outlet for outrage, but this would have happened exactly the same without it, because it is actually outrageous.

the problem with the internet is it mobilises retarded people to be outraged about utterly meaningless, often untrue things. Sensible people can manage outrage without faceache and twitter.

And do you honestly think companies like Ford give the tiniest little shit about what people tweet at them? really?
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 16:55, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

Of course they do,
the people who deal with those tweets sit right in the head office walking distance from the heads of communications. If they get 400 tweets in an hour saying they should stop doing something then they wander over and tell them.
Then they make a calculation does stopping these adverts give us better publicity than not stopping them.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:06, Reply)

what, you've been to Ford's corporate comms department and you know this?

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:07, Reply)

I know how that works with this stuff.
To say they don't care about "Ford bastards" or whatever trending on twitter is naive, they'll do an awful lot to stop that.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:11, Reply)

I suspect in a corporate world
obsessed with image and trying to get hard data on corporate image, twitter trending is probably seen as a handy (and importantly, free) way to judge the mood of the consumer. Whether it is or isn't
( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:16, Reply)

Apple might give a shit about "twitter trending"
Nokia might. Orange might. high throughput relatively low cost consumables.

People who spend £15K upwards on new cars, in general, do not base their choices on nor, frankly, could they give a fuck about twitter trending. IMO.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:20, Reply)

Depends why "ford bastards" was being trended. and they'd only do anything if the effort was worth it
and since only the tiniest fraction of ford's customer base gives the tinest shit about what is trending on twitter, I'd suggest that "an awful lot" is a massive stretch.

however, I concede I might have over-generalised, since I was replying to your suggestion that Ford would take notice of people tweeting them to stop advertising in NotW. They didn't and they wouldn't. They may, I concede, take notice of a protracted campaign against them in any form of media, but that's hardly what happened, is it?
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:18, Reply)

How much does Ford spend in advertising and PR each year? Let's round this figure at a complete and utter guess, a conservative £10m....
.... What's the objective of that investment? To sale products and attract investors*. Shit goes down the pipes so that nobody will uninvest or un-buy a car because they're advertising with a questionable distribution methord, and nobody is going to think "I'm going to pick a different car" because of it.... However, some people who are sitting on the fence when it comes to investing something _might_ move over to their side over this.

I think that makes sense, they've turned a potentially negative PR event into a fantastic one. People are talking about Ford because they did pull out, where as if they didn't (and in time) they would have been just one of a long list of advertisers.

* Yes, it's to get their name out there, but that is pointless if you can't convert that to finacials.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:38, Reply)

totally agree.
the point I'm making is that it had fuck all to do with facebook campaigns or twitter trending. Ford just thought it up by themselves, but more importantly, pulled out first. That's what got them the press. If you like, they created the twitter trend.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:40, Reply)

But Social Networking is a big impact on advertising these days, huuge, one could say more so than TV/Print depending on the company involved.
It creates a feedback that was impossible before it. I think most big companies would be mad not to employee an expert in that field, it's as essenchall now as an SEO expert.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Thu 7 Jul 2011, 17:56, Reply)