A recent news article about the marketing tactics of various companies caught my eye. One of the companies was AT&T. On September 11th, they saw an opportunity to promote their company via twitter—they ‘tweeted’ a picture of an individual taking “a photo of the memorial at ground zero, where the twin towers used to stand” along with the words “never forget”. However, this commemorating ‘tweet’ eventually backfired on them. Following AT&T’s action, an abrupt commotion occurred among the twitter society—many responded negatively to this ‘tweet’.
This news article captured my interest as it is an example of marketing failure from a big telecommunications corporation. From my point of view, what they did can be interpreted as unethical marketing. AT&T was attempting to take advantage of the public’s vulnerability by posting an image of a tragic event that impacted on many lives, but it was just another one of their marketing schemes to further promote their products. Inevitably, these marketing tactics will only damage AT&T’s reputation. 9/11 was a very intense and emotional day for many, especially for those who reside in the U.S. as it is close to home. What AT&T did frustrated and offended many of their customers as they had gone too using such an emotional event as part of their marketing plan.
As a consequence to this, AT&T should start evaluating all of the marketing decisions. What marketers must understand is that they need to consider the consumers’ point of view. I feel that they have neglected this aspect of marketing. This is one of the main reasons why this marketing plan has failed the moment it was launched.
source: AT&T ‘Tweet’ Image