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<\/p>\nAT&T has recently come under fire due to a photo posted to their Twitter depicting a hand holding a smartphone, with the screen displaying the Tribute in Light. Accompanying the picture was the text \u201cNever Forget\u201d. \u00a0It immediately received an unexpected amount of backlash from social media users; many perceived the image as a tactless marketing ploy which exploited the tragedy of 9\/11.\u00a0 The picture was pulled from Twitter a few hours later, after hundreds of outraged replies condemned the tweet as tasteless and insensitive.<\/p>\n
This controversy raises the issue of ethics within a business setting. It is difficult to truly define the acceptable boundaries for marketing; how far should company go in order to capture its intended consumer\u2019s attention? At what point do these efforts become unethical?<\/p>\n
A conspicuous lack of social responsibility within a business makes it less appealing to stakeholders. A consumers’ attitude towards a corporation will greatly influence their willingness to support and purchase from it. Despite the increased publicity for AT&T resulting from the tweet, the use of what most considered were unethical methods will ultimately be detrimental to their brand image.<\/p>\n
Although AT&T has since insisted that the tweet was meant solely to pay tribute, I feel as though not enough consideration was put into the decision to make the post. \u00a0It seems inevitable that people would react to such a sensitive subject, regardless of whether or not AT&Ts intentions were genuine.<\/p>\n
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Source: http:\/\/news.nationalpost.com\/2013\/09\/11\/att-pulls-iphone-themed-911-tweet-after-mass-outrage\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AT&T has recently come under fire due to a photo posted to their Twitter depicting a hand holding a smartphone, with the screen displaying the Tribute in Light. Accompanying the picture was the text \u201cNever Forget\u201d. \u00a0It immediately received an … Continue reading