Oops! New Media Strategies Sacked Over Chrysler Tweet

[Guest Poster]

In yet another show of why brand management is so important and content is key, Chrysler has fired its agency, New Media Strategies, due to an errant tweet sent yesterday. The tweet, meant to be sent from the strategists personal account but mistakenly sent from the @ChryslerAutos handle, read "I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to fucking drive.”

Chrysler immediately jumped into action and sacked the agency, issuing this statement on their blog today, "So why were we so sensitive? That commercial featuring the Chrysler 200, Eminem and the City of Detroit wasn’t just an act of salesmanship. This company is committed to promoting Detroit and its hard-working people. The reaction to that commercial, the catchphrase 'imported from Detroit,' and the overall positive messages it sent has been volcanic."

Good for Chrysler for jumping into action after narrowly avoiding a serious brand mistake.

Lesson of the day? Ensure the people around you and working for you believe strongly in your brand and what it represents. Everybody needs to take up the call when it comes to your messaging and identity.

How many people at your dealer have access to tweet on behalf of your dealerships twitter account?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

How crazy is that? Thanks for sharing Laurie. I know I have done this myself but of course not to this degree. This is too easy to do if you're managing more than 1 twitter account. Especially if your are using a twitter tool like tweetdeck, where you can toggle between accounts effortlessly.

I'm the ONLY one that has twitter access for my dealer accounts.

 

[Kevin Frye]

The agency immediately fired the person that made the mistake, but Chrysler still fired the agency. Scary - what if this happened at your dealership when someone that managed your account was fired and decided to pay retribution???

 

[Kevin Frye]

And the more I think about it, if Chrysler has zero room for an error like this, have they checked Eminem's twitter's??? Something tells me he might have an F-bomb in there as well and isn't he considered the face of their new campaign???

 

[Matt Scalcione]

The agency's only job is to ensure Chrysler is represented optimally in social forums, this post is not only negative but attacks the very roots which Chrysler touts, and from their own Twitter account.

The individual meant to post this on his own Twitter account which probably has privacy settings or doesn't matter because the individual is basically anonymous, unlike Eminem.

When they signed Eminem as a spokesperson I bet the pitch was that Eminem is a well known Detroit native who fought from the bottom to get to the top; something hard working Americans can identify with. So they knew what they were getting into from the start there.

*removes Don Draper cap

 

[Laurie Halter]

Agree with Matt above. I own an agency and would fire someone for this offense as well. When you are in charge of a company's identity, especially a company like Chrysler, there should be zero tolerance for mistakes like the one above. This agency was Chrysler's "face" online and to make such an error could unravel the strong image Chrsyler is developing in one fatal swoop.

 

[Laurie Halter]

Agree with Matt above. I own an agency and would fire someone for this offense as well. When you are in charge of a company's identity, especially a company like Chrysler, there should be zero tolerance for mistakes like the one above. This agency was Chrysler's "face" online and to make such an error could unravel the strong image Chrsyler is developing in one fatal swoop.

 

[Kevin Frye]

It is certainly a "zero-tolerance" society today, I hope that neither of you have someone do this accidentally with your agency as you will be fired immediately (and with your endorsement!)

 

[Chris MSU]

Strong image? Hardly. Chrysler's response shows they have no idea how to spell social media. What a great oppty to turn a big problem into a cool social media move (ie red cross). Thus, the brand will never get off life support acting like a manufacturer circa 1980.

 

[Ed Brooks]

Could it be as simple as an Old Media background verses a New Media background? Look at the three heads of Social Media at the 'Big 3'. Scott Monty at Ford, Chris Barger at GM and Ed Garsten at Chrysler. Monty and Barger are Social Media Rockstars that have spent much of their careers immersed in New Media. Garsten has had a long career, mostly spent in television and print. He's no doubt been an innovator (he was one of the ten founding producers at CNN Headline News), but he certainly comes from an Old Media background.

Was this Garsten's fault? It's clear it was a simple mistake by what, in effect, was a subcontractor - an agency employee. That said, Monty and Barger also appear to be much more comfortable and hands-on with Social Media. Ford also employs an agency, The Social Media Group and while GM had been in house, they have recently hired Big Fuel, a New York based agency to assist. A sign that Barger and Monty are more hands-on and comfortable: Barger has 7,600 Twitter followers, Monty has a whopping 51,000. Garston has a mere 150.

Is it possible that the substantially higher level of engagement on Social Media by the heads of GM's and Ford's Social Media help them avoid such a catastrophe? My guess is yes. Could it have happened at Ford or GM? Sure it could, but it seems more likely that the more responsibility placed in the hands of those outside the company, the higher the likelihood of mistakes happening.

This lesson translates to the dealer level as well. Does it mean there is no place for agencies or PR firms? Not at all. But it does mean that dealer management should have a high level engagement and involvement.

Laurie; Would you rather work with a company where top management has a blog and an active Twitter account or one where they ask about how to get on "The Twitter Machine"?