Nestle / Facebook / Greenpeace timeline (in process)
Couple of notes: Due to source location of various posts (i.e. time zones) there is some slight variation between time posted on images and 'relative' time to other images. Still working some of that out. Additionally, Posterous formatting capabilities leave something to be desired once you edit the post. So I apologize in advance for the roughshod indenting and formatting. Will clean up and format as soon as timeline is solidified. I'll update the final graph in a few days to show extended impact. Please feel free to leave a comment on any additional info that you feel is missing or that is out of order.
For more insightful vs factual information I would point you to Jeremiah Owyangs post here .
- Mar. 16-17 (depending on location) Greenpeace report calling out Nestle
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/caught-red-ha...
- Mar. 17, 2010
Nestle launches press release that they have dropped the palm oil supplier in question:
March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA said it dropped Sinar Mas Group as a supplier of palm oil, after Greenpeace called on the world’s largest foodmaker to cut ties with the Indonesian company.
Greenpeace UK "Orangutan activities"
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/kit-kat-give-orang-utan-break-20100317
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=127366&id=9250349228&ref=share
Mild volume "anti-feedback" on Facebook page as reaction
Greenpeace produces video advertisement against Nestle / Kit-Kat - Live Mar 17 @ 5am CST
(I personally wouldn't watch it if I were you, you've been warned)
Nestle attemps to censor Greenpeace video advertisement
Media picks up story, "attempt to censor backfires on Nestle"
Greenpeace advocates notified by media now ramp up attacks at Nestles Facebook fan page to express discontent
Vimeo users comments
"Thanks Nestle -I would've never seen this video if u hadn't it kicked off YouTube"
- Mar. 17 Nestle posts on Facebook that they care.
Logo is co-opted by advocate, becomes meme within advocate group
- Mar. 19 Nestle attempts to censor co-opted logo usage before it gets out of control. Already angry due to having their fan page now used as platform against them.
After backlash of comments regarding censorship a Nestle rep responds with:
"Oh please...it's like we're censoring everything to allow only positive comments"
Then this:
Paul Griffin - "not sure you're going to win friends in the social media space with this sort of dogmatic approach. I understand that you're on your back-foot due to various issues not excluding palm oil but social media is about embracing your market, engaging and having a conversation rather than preaching!"
Was responded to with:
"Thanks for the lesson in manners. Consider yourself embraced. But it's our page, we set the rules, it was ever thus."
And last but not least, this exchange
- Mar. 19 Within a few hours and some back and forth the mea culpa comes forth
Greenpeace advocates use social media issues to raise ire to new level, picks up more steam.
Greenpeace UK Posts tweet inciting more advocates to participate on Facebook (pointed out by @jowyang)
- Mar. 20 Media / SM Pundits pick up story. Now makes rounds on twitter, becomes "viral" but only in the sense of those involved in social media leadership circles. The reality is that this story essentially peaked (from a mass public perspective) on the 19th, it's us pundits running around trying to figure out the meaning of it all, the lessons to be learned, and the monday morning quarterbacking about what should/could have been done differently that are so focused on it. We're in that downward progression now, it remains to be seen if it will continue to decline or if it gets picked up by the mass media to repeat the cycle.
Graph of last 7 days of twitter usage of "nestle"
While this story does make for a good case study to demonstrate potential risks in social media and how one might mitigate those risks, I'm at odds with how many have responded to it. As they say, hindsight is 20/20 and it's easy to bash someone else's response from afar.
But I'll leave you with this:
Tracy Frauzel, head of digital communications at Greenpeace, was understandably pleased. “They’ve made it so easy for us,” she said. "Nestle just don’t seem to have a good understanding as to what happens on the social space." source
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Again, we now have the benefit of hindsight, but my personal approach would have been:
1) Make it clear to the usurpers that this was *their fans* place for communicating with Nestle (shift this to a battle of Nestle and the fans against the usurpers)
2) That if necessary they would protect their fans ability to communicate by restricting communications temporarily if necessary (put blame for any censorship/shutdown on the usurpers, not you)
3) If possible lock down the page for the interim (activism needs an audience to survive)
4) Publish the absolute worst info that Greenpeace has to say about them front and center (demonstrate that you're not closing down the platform due to fears about what might be said about you by proactively putting it up yourself)
5) Publish Nestle response to those claims (demonstrate that you listened, and you took action, and in such a way as to let consumer decide for themselves whether response was appropriate)
6) Provide separate forum for activist to express themselves if desired (demonstrate that you're not shutting them up, you're just protecting the area for those fans to be used in the manner they originally built it for. the other area will not be used, no external audience, no activist)
After peak has boiled down open back up the page, with the precedent now set that Nestle will do what is necessary to 'protect' the fans right to communication. Next time it occurs fans will be advocates for Nestle if done in a reasonable manner, and be understanding if a shutdown must occur again.
That's the theory anyway.
Matt Ridings - @techguerilla
There's gotta be a way to better manage the online brand... oh wait, pay attention!
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