Es Tea Double Eye

This is what I read between the lines when it comes to big brands. Like @fearsumm one day said: “I can read between the lines. Even if it is only one line, I can read between it”

Last week, Coca-Cola had a hissy fit about Jason Bagley running an “official-looking” site (mycoke.co.za) without their involvement.

So, who’s fault is THAT?! Why didn’t the Coca-Cola company facilitate such a site from the word go? Could it be that people DO NOT TRUST brands to allow them so-called freedom of speech? If you read this from their official statement:

The Coca-Cola Company appreciates all comments and feedback received from fans of the MY COKE FEST events and encourages discussion and dialogue about these events in open forums. However, the Company cannot knowingly permit such discussions to take place in conjunction with the unauthorized use of its trade marks which could ultimately result in harm to its brands and image.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do empathise with that. There are some seriously anal people (a.k.a. Trolls) out there in the world that will try and find things wrong with everything and anything just for the sake of being anal. The question then becomes when and where do opinions cross the line and become trollish flamebait? Who is to decide that?

Personally, I think that we love our fans to be positively vocal about our brands, but hate it when there are negative comments. Should we not trust our fans to address the negative comments as well? It is virtually impossible to address each and every statement made about you. Coca-Cola would have to have a whole department for community interaction. They should rather just focus on their champions and get them to help respond to negative comments. Users would also be able to identify and deal with trolls much easier.

Coca-Cola should learn how to effectively use an uncontrollable community to their advantage, rather than forcing them to close down. See, the math makes no sense whatsoever. It is a big enough issue for them to get their lawyers to shut mycoke.co.za down. Do they seriously think they made ANY friends or fans with this type of action? Erm, I wouldn’t think so. I’d love to see them (fans) vent their frustration elsewhere. It should make an interesting read!

Big brands, specially here in South Africa, still acts a lot like an old school headmaster. You don’t talk back at him. You WILL get smacked if you do. You are, after all, a child who knows nothing. Who needs to grow up?