PR

Air Canada and the Non-Lesson from United Airlines

This story caught my eye today. It’s about a little 10-year old boy who’s dying from muscular dystrophy.

As part of his dying wishes, Tanner traveled to New York to take a tour through Central Park. He flew with Air Canada. In Canada, the name Air Canada is synonymous with “Who Cares Canada” instead. Simply put, they’re pretty much the crappest airline around.

Yesterday, however, they outdid themselves. They broke Tanner’s $15,000 wheelchair.

This is an 10-year old boy who can’t get around without his wheelchair. His needs mean that the chair is almost like an extra body part for him.

As an example, think of yourself trying to breathe on only one lung – that’s how important Tanner’s chair is.

So, bit of a problem would be an understatement.

No problem, you’d think. Air Canada broke it, they’ll replace it, right? Wrong.

They told Tanner’s family that they can’t do anything until this coming Monday – five days later. Five days for Tanner to be bed-ridden because Air Canada screwed up. Bad move, Air Canada – we live in the age of social media and instant backlash.

You might recall the outcry when U.S. air carrier United Airlines broke a passenger’s guitar, and the protracted period he went through to get a replacement. Eventually he made a YouTube video that saw United Airline take a negative PR hit they were never prepared for.

You would have thought airlines would have learned from that escapade, especially when you have some great uses of social media from the industry by the likes of JetBlue and Southwest Airlines.

But then again, this is Air Canada we’re talking about.

Despite an outcry on Twitter; despite the news story that leads this post; despite the family pleading their case about how crucial it is for Tanner to have a wheelchair, so far there’s been nothing from the company apart from a “loaner” that Tanner can’t use.

Instead, it’s taken a company in New York called Mobility Solutions to come to Tanner’s rescue. All through Twitter. All through helping a little boy out. All through goodwill; not through responsibility of breaking an item and replacing it.

Nice job, Air Canada.

Now I know times are tough, since you announced your second quarter results and showed a loss of $203 million. But then again, you made an operating income of $75 million, compared to a loss of $113 million last year. So you have some spare change.

But not enough to replace a dying kid’s $15,000 wheelchair that you broke?

Maybe there’s a reason. Maybe there’s red tape you have to sign off. Maybe you have to investigate what happened. Fair enough – that’s business.

But there’s business and there’s good business. You screwed up. You replace. Then you find out what happened.

It’s not so hard, is it?

And while you’re thinking about that, you might want to look at sorting out your Twitter profile, or updating your Facebook page. That’s where the questions are happening. If you had these up-to-date, some things you could have done:

Addressed the concerns of Twitter users that are calling you out.
Used your Facebook wall to keep folks updated on what’s happening.
Used the #TutusForTanner hashtag on Twitter to offer apologies and advise what went wrong/how it’s being fixed.
Connected with the news outlets social feeds and updated via there as well.

The great thing about social media is that any mistakes made on it can be rectified on it as well. You have that chance.

Or is it still “Who Cares Canada”?

Update: Looks like Air Canada has stepped up to the plate and is helping to resolve. Good on them – just a pity it probably had a tad to do with the negative publicity as opposed to just getting it sorted as a given.

Update 2: I’m hearing Air Canada is going to fly Tanner to Disneyland (another of his dying wishes) as a way of showing their regret at the incident . Good job, AC – great to see you becoming involved.

How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People

When is sharing information useful, and when is it just spamming off the back of someone else’s community?

I ask because when I logged into my Facebook page today to post an update on a future Bonsai Interactive event, I was met with this at the top of my wall (click to expand).

It was posted by Claire Reynolds on behalf of the DSNR Media Group. At least I think it’s by Claire on behalf of DSNR, since Claire’s Facebook profile has her located in the U.K., while DSNR are based in Israel.

DSNR describe themselves as “a recognized global provider of result-based online and mobile advertising solutions… with cutting edge optimization tools.” Really, DSNR?

So spamming your message onto a Facebook wall is considered cutting edge? Shilling your wares without permission is your great advertising solutions? Posting links to your service where they may or may not be relevant to the audience is ethical?

Here’s a heads-up – spam is not cool.

You can paint it whatever way you like, but you’re spamming.

You’re an online advertising company, so I’m pretty sure you’re aware of Permission Marketing from Seth Godin. Even though it was written over 10 years ago, it’s still more than relevant today. Check it out – it’s a great read and might open your eyes as to why your current spamming approach isn’t welcome.

In the meantime, I’m removing your post on my wall. I respect the community I have over there, and I don’t want them spammed by you either.

Have a great week.

Local Joints TV Merges Social Media and Local Community

Social media often works best when using it to involve your local community, and new web show Local Joints TV does this really well.

Hosted by my friend (and part of the 12for12k creative team) Darin Berntson, it’s a mix of entertainment, education and promotion. What’s cool about Local Joints TV is the way that it mixes offline businesses with the distribution of social media.

Not only is it helping local businesses be highlighted, it’s showing them (and others like them) how social media can benefit them when used properly.

What Is Local Joints TV?

In Darin’s own words, Local Joints TV is, “More of Infotainment than a review. It is similar to a show you may see on the Food Network? think Diners Drive-ins and Dives, add a dash of local flavor, social media, and promotion like crazy and you have the essence of Local Joints TV.”

By using video and a YouTube channel, Local Joints TV is bringing local businesses that provide fun, food and entertainment front and centre. Interviewing owners of fast food joints, restaurants, nightclubs and more, Darin gives you a real feel for the local businesses in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah.

From sit-down chats at a burger joint table, to going behind the scenes and seeing how a local specialty is made, Local Joints TV is the connector between traditional advertising and social media. Now, instead of wondering what a menu is like, or how a new restaurant’s ambiance fits in with your dinner needs, Darin’s show will give you that information and more.

This information is then shared via the YouTube channel, as well as Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. Local Joints TV on Facebook in particular is pretty cool, with frequent giveaways, a Winners Wall and photo albums of the places featured and the people that make up their success.

But that’s just the start.

Local Business, Networked Customers

While Darin’s current focus with Local Joints TV is on the entertainment industry in his city, the idea can be scaled a lot further.

Franchises are one area that Darin’s looking at, and this opens up a wider picture for Local Joints TV and the concept of local advertising on a wider scale.

For example, say you’re traveling to a city and you need a review of some places to visit when there. While you could jump onto something like Yellow Pages or crowdsource your online network, what if you could jump onto a website that has video details of the venue?

Or, plan ahead and contact the Local Joints TV team that’s in the city you’re interested in. For a small fee you can get your own personalized review and recommendation – something that a local newspaper or radio ad can’t give you.

It’s this scope for expansion that makes something like Local Joints TV the ideal mix of physical interaction and online connections.

While it’s early days for Darin and Local Joints TV, it’s something that has a lot of potential. From the businesses it promotes at the minute to sponsorship opportunities (gas stations could be travel partners, electronic stores could provide the video equipment, etc), there’s a definite space for the approach Local Joints TV takes.

Mix in the opportunities that Foursquare could offer – follow Local Joints TV and check in while the show is being shot for special offers, for example – and you can start to see where the benefits for featured businesses would come.

What do you think of the Local Joints TV idea – could you see something like it used where you live?

Four Seasons Hotels and the Art of Social Media

A lot’s been written about the Roger Smith Hotel in New York, and how it’s “doing social media right.”

But that’s just one hotel in one city, and as much as they’re doing a great job, it’s the adoption of social media by the “big boys” of any industry that really show how well social media uptake there is.

Enter Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group.

What’s cool about their entry into social media is not that they’ve done so, but how they’re doing it.

Four Seasons, Four Outposts

While a lot of companies dabble with a Twitter account or a Facebook fan page when it comes to their social media outlets, Four Seasons takes that and adds it to the power of many.

If you check their Social Media At A Glance page, you’ll see that not only does Four Seasons have a presence on Twitter and Facebook, but also YouTube and mobile/web applications. Yet, again, it doesn’t stop there, as you’ll see if you click on each social outlet.

Four Seasons on Twitter. Instead of just having a corporate Twitter account (which they do, and use it as an information hub), Four Seasons has individual Twitter accounts for each resort. Fun and friendly, they’re a mix of updates, offers and conversations with guests and offer a great outlet for customers old and new.
Four Seasons on Facebook. Just like Twitter, there are a host of individual Facebook pages, as opposed to the singular corporate one. And they’re also much more than your usual Facebook page, with polls, booking forms, special offers and much more.
Four Seasons on YouTube. A collection of short snippets about what summer means, the Four Seasons YouTube channel is currently pretty minimal for content, but they’ve got some great ideas about what makes for short and enticing.
Four Seasons Apps and Widgets. This is where the group gets pretty funky. Since Four Seasons caters to travelers, what smarter way to reach them than with an iPhone app? Sure, it leaves out other smartphone users, but the demographic for Four Seasons fits perfectly with the iPhone crowd, so they’ve obviously done their homework. They also have a Facebook app and an embeddable widget for your website or blog.

So, all in all, a pretty comprehensive social media presence. And that’s just for now – imagine where they could take it.

Social and Mobile Media Opportunities

While it’s great to see a large company like Four Seasons adopt social media and adopt it so well, they’ve got a great opportunity to really stand out from the pack in their industry.

They already have the iPhone app, but why not transfer that success to Android or BlackBerry? Both of these platforms have great app stores and a healthy slice of the demographic that Four Seasons attracts.

Taking that up a notch, they could also introduce a loyalty card that could be tied into both their Facebook app and their mobile app(s). Pre-book your stay either via Facebook or your iPhone, and you immediately get points added to your loyalty card to use at the resort. Or check-in via GoWalla or Foursquare and become the Mayor of a certain area to receive extra spa treats or facility use while at the resort in question.

I’d also like to see the YouTube channel being used more. Have guests make their own holiday videos to upload and share, to give a personal view of the Four Seasons approach. And use it as an educational channel as well – what shots you need for what countries, local characters, cultural differences to respect, etc.

These are just some ideas that Four Seasons (or any hotel or resort group) could add to enhance any social media experience from both their point of view and that of their guests. Some might be better suited than others to different companies, but it’d be great to see the buttons being pushed on how social media (and mobile) is being used.

In the meantime, hats off to Four Seasons for their current social media approach. Nice to see larger companies get on board so well.

How about you – any hotel or leisure groups stand out for you? And how would you like to see them using social media?

photo credit: four seasons

Promotion Commotion

Businesses spend thousands (or millions) on launching new products. Ad spend, PR, marketing, media blitzes – and that’s just the traditional approach. Then you have social media to add to the mix.

The bean counters look at the return and either class it a success or call for the promo team’s head.

What they tend to do, though, is get lost in the promotion commotion. Not all product launches are immediate successes.

Look at The Shawshank Redemption. A failure when it hit the cinema, but now one of the most beloved movies ever and frequently on movie magazines Best Of lists, not to mention normal viewers’ favourites.

Sometimes the product is right, just the timing is off. That’s not to say success won’t come. Plan to build for the long-term and stop watching the instant ticker tape results – you might just win in the end.