Question

Discuss whether generating publicity is one of the few marketing communications activities that has not changed much because of the Internet. An old advertising adage is “the only bad publicity is no publicity.” Do you agree? How has open social media forums like Facebook and Twitter changed this concept?

Answer 1

Ans 1

In my opinion, contrary to what's stated in the question, generating publicity has actually, changed a lot because of the internet. Marketing communications have transformed with every technological advancement - right from the printing press, to the radio, to the television, and now to the internet. The rapid growth and adoption of internet technology has led to a "democratisation" of the media - where any individual having a good strategy, an internet connection, and fundamental web designing skills is capable of competing with multi-billion dollar corporations for views and advertising.

People are accessing information in new ways, going beyond the traditional advertising mediums (TVs, radios etc.). Consequently, companies are forced to adapt to these "new ways" in order to reach out to their audiences. For instance, according to some research, American companies spent around $15 billion more on online advertisements as against television advertisements in 2016. Combined expenditure on mobile ads and social media (something absolutely unheard of 15 years back!), is expected to be $55 billion dollars in 2019! Companies are looking to develop new systems/processes to facilitate digital advertising, track results & optimize effectiveness. Newer technologies like interactive advertising, personalization, value-exchange and native advertising are being developed and implemented to connect companies with consumers in innovative ways..

Ans 2

The idea behind the adage is that any publicity - good or bad - gives you the needed exposure and the opportunity to be on the top of people’s minds all the time. However, this isn't, and quite frankly can never be, a rule. Being negatively publicised has very serious implications. A good illustration of this point is the costly ignorance of Lockheed Martin Corporation to the tweets made against it, in poor taste, by Donald trump. Trump accused the company of careless spending, on Twitter, which the company ignored and didn't respond to. This caused a drastic fall in its stock value leading to massive monetary losses - running in billions.. Trump continued with his tweets - leading to further brand damage - owing to which the company had to ultimately shave off millions from its price tags!

There are a multitude of other notorious cases of brand damage from poor social media management including British Airways, JP Morgan, McDonald's...and many more. The point is simple - Social media is the new point of connection with customers. Underestimating its power - especially in the matter of brand image - is a drastic, costly, and perhaps even dire, mistake!