Ohh Rats...

Lately, I have been talking viral marketing up quite a bit. I have praised everything from funny videos to clever websites. But sometimes, a stunt can go terribly wrong. Like, for example, Turner Broadcaster's bomb scare. That sure didn't end well.

But what about about viral videos gone bad? Sure we always hear about the funny videos like Tea Partay (which promoted Bacardi), or Milaukee's Beer Cannon, but what about the ugly?

Sometimes, a customer, reporter, employee, or random person catches something pretty nasty on video, puts it on the Internet, and watches a company's value decline. If viral videos have the power to increase a brands image and popularity, then they sure have an equal power to take those qualities away, and even worse, destroy a product.

Recently in the news, Taco Bell/KFC have been under some harsh criticism for a discusting video recorded and broadcasted by New York's WNBC-TV. It shows several rats overrunning a KFC/Taco Bell chain, and was quickly uploaded to many video-sharing websites (available for anyone in the world). Not only is having a dozen dirty rats run around bad for your restaurant, but also you can see several local residents witnessing the sites. What probably will happen is these people will immediately get on their cellphones, tell their friends, whom in return will tell their friends, and the cycle will continue to grow until confirmed by the online video--increasing the rumor. It's unexpected viral marketing at its worst, something a company really cannot control until after the incident (PR).

In AdAges article about the incident, a Steven Fink is reported saying that once a video is out on the internet, there really is no end. Videos can "live" on the internet for years upon years, constantly reminding people of certain incidents like this. The article goes on to explain that nearly 600 stories were posted online, and 1000s of blogs within a days of the incident.


Another example of this negative buzz, something a little more "low key," is the incident with an apple employee. He posted a rather comical video (something that has been pulled from nearly ever website now, sorry can't find a link) showing an Apple talent show with all employees. He was asked to read some of his poetry, and he did. He read a very funny poem about falling in love with a UPS caller which made everyone laugh, everyone except the boss. He reported that 2 days later he was fired, yet two days after that he was on Comedy Central's Def Poetry reading wearing an Apple shirt. Do you think he had happy things to say about the company?

So whats the moral lesson? Well it could be for companies to stay clean, watch what they say/do, and becareful of who they fire. But in all reality, companies cannot prevent everything bad for happening, for then PR firms would go out of business. Instead, they must relaize the consequences of such actions, and that in today's world, news and actual evidence of news, can spread very fast. That videos posted on the Internet are not always good for you. Yes there is negative buzz, you can't always say "even negative publicity is publicity."

Make sure you stay focused on stories like these, monitor Taco Bell/KFC sales and public opinion, I have a feelign they will drop drastically.