Industry News
The Real Cost of the Riots
The past month has been dominated with stories about the riots. Everything has been debated and discussed; from how to repair a broken shop window to how to repair a broken society. No theory has been overlooked and no suggestion has been muted. But while “the long road to recovery” begins there will be people in the research industry being called upon to consider the damage done to something far less tangible than high streets and public services: Consumer brands.
It must surely be every company’s worst nightmare to see their much loved brand being so closely linked to something so negative, but unlike Abercrombie and Fitch, who recently offered to pay reality TV stars not to wear their brand, the people at Adidas had no such control. In nearly every scene of August’s riots was the unmistakable icon of the sportswear brand, earning them the unenviable title of the “unofficial sponsor of the 2011 riots” and doing untold damage to their brand.
Other victims of the negative publicity were Blackberry, whose free messaging service was listed as a key component in the organisation of the riots, with users of the service quickly communicating which areas to target. Conversely, Dixons Retail Group, who were the hapless victims of looting, also suffered a surprise decrease in their brand perception but were quick to release full-page adverts alongside Crimestoppers in a bid to diminish these negative associations. Levi’s was forced to shelve their latest advertising campaign, which depicts scenes reminiscent of the May Day riots in Berlin, when a public outcry accused the company of capitalising on the situation.
While some suffered, others prospered. The marketing team behind the Manchester Tourist Board launched a one-off anti-riot campaign called “I [Love] MCR”. Coinciding with the city’s Gay Pride event, they scheduled a full day of activities with merchandise, intended to draw reluctant shoppers back to the city centre. While initial studies have shown that the riots should have no lasting impact on UK tourism, there have been calls for the Olympic committee to follow Manchester’s lead and launch a similar campaign.
But whatever the outcome, now that the dust has settled many companies will now be wrestling with the changes in their brand value, whether trying to reclaim something lost or capitalise on a rival company’s misfortune, it will be the turn of the market research industry to step in and help. And while grappling with the seismic changes that have occurred in many of their client’s brand value it may be worth considering the validity of that most famous of sayings – is there really no such thing as bad publicity?
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