Bürgen’s campaign to attract “Bürgen virgins” to try their bread in bed sparked a little negative feedback on their Facebook page. This formed the basis for stories on the Stuff and New Zealand Herald websites.
Bürgen did not appear to answer media inquiries, the story died, and the campaign continued. This is an interesting lesson for those companies who would have uncessarily apologised and dropped the adverts within hours of the first complaints and news stories.
But the manufacturer survived despite itself. It did not respond with the sassy tone of the campaign. Its online reaction to complaints was drab. It talked about the advertising strategy (even using the registered trademark symbol!), which is poor form. Media used this response in their stories. You need to stay on-message and in-character all the time, in any medium.
What they said
We are sorry you do not like our advertising. We believe Bürgen® is beautifully made bread and we want to share it with people who have never tried it – hence the term Bürgen® Virgin.
It’s a tongue-in-cheek approach to get people talking about the brand. But it certainly is not meant to cause offence. We will pass on your comments and hope you may change your mind about not buying our bread.
What they could have said
Bürgen is beautifully made bread and we want to share it with people who have never tried it – hence the term Bürgen Virgin. Sure, it’s mischievous, but that’s what our bread in bed feels like.
Thanks for sharing your view. We listen to our customers, and your comments will be discussed. If you PM us, we’d love to send you some bread as thanks.
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