When everything’s negotiable, how do you negotiate generosity?
The smh reported yesterday that Bing Lee was facing a backlash to its social media donation campaign for the Queensland floods. Bing Lee promised to donate $1 to the Queensland flood appeal for every person that ‘likes’ its company facebook page (up to 10,000 people/$).
On the face of it, Bing Lee are offering to make a generous donation to a worthy cause. Generosity is a key trend for consumers – and brands, according to trendwatchers.
It’s about caring, sharing and being generous – to staff, to customers, to society and the planet.
In some ways, Bing Lee is well placed to harness this trend. When “Everything’s negotiable”, the negotiation itself may well be an act of generosity. And the offer to donate to the Queensland Flood appeal is a generous one.
But 65% of smh readers think Bing Lee have gone about this the wrong way. Some see it as well intentioned but crass, a marketing gimmick – some are more cynical, viewing it as a calculating marketing ploy to capture Facebook ‘fans’ under the guise of philanthropy. They are outraged that the company could get connected to 10,000 new Facebook ‘fans’ for the equivalent of a $10,000 spend (a good marketing ROI).
But not everyone thinks that… In fact it took just hours for the $10,000 target to be reached, indicating there are supporters of the initative. And, while outnumbered by the detractors on the smh site, supporters have commented that because the “end” (the donation) is a good thing, the “means” are irrelevant.
I’ve taken three key things from the debate.
Firstly, consumers are (generally) more savvy than brands about social media – they understand what brands are up to, and they’ll harness that for greater good. Like this post:
Bing Lee have just passed 10,000 fans and donated the promised $10,000. All I had to do was like them for a few hours. Not Precious about Facebook. | Sydney – January 12, 2011, 4:00PM
And secondly, that this is the Generosity trend in action. Some consumers expect brands to support causes and will rage with righteousness, some are prepared to use the system to ensure generosity is delivered, and others are willing to forgive a brand-blunder as long as there’s a generous outcome.
And lastly, that generosity is not negotiable.
