Nothing can quite stir human emotion more than something that really ought not to matter – race. And that’s race, in terms of individual ethnicity.
The US big box hardware store (which has recently expanded into Canada) pulled its commercials from the reality TV show “All-American Muslim” on TLC. Their move has been immediately seen as bigoted, and the outcry has been tremendous.
Because of social media – and in this case Facebook – news has spread far, and over 24,000 comments have been posted to the status update on Lowe’s Facebook page explaining what they did.
And since that status update on Saturday at 1:41 p.m. – it’s been more than 72 hours – and NOTHING. Lowe’s – a company that ordinarily posts daily, and doesn’t go two days without an update – is frozen.
This isn’t a social media issue, as much as it is an internal Lowe’s Value System issue. The company made a decision to advertise on the show for particular reasons. It was calculated, and they made the commitment. No one expects anyone to be perfect – but being accountable and communicative are vital. And social media helps people and companies to reach out in a faster, more transparent way than every before.
They have opportunity for dialogue, but instead of that, they’ve chosen to be silent. Perhaps hoping that it will all go away. Technology ensures it won’t go away soon.
There are ways to make this right. And I’m suggesting I have the right decisions for Lowe’s, but from a social media consulting perspective – it needs to be accountable and communicative – no matter what they it decides moving forward.
About the Author:
Samuel Araki is the founder of LocalTrifecta Internet Marketing. He believes SME’s need to regain control of their digital marketing - which has become a muddled landscape, filled with fast talking, budget sucking, wannabe Internet Marketing leeches. He is clear that online marketing is not an overnight process, but is a commitment to furthering an upward trending marketing channel. Follow Samuel’s musings on Twitter and Google+
