Competitors drew attention by taking advantage of United Airline’s recent public relations disaster. As you probably know, United received an avalanche of criticism after police violently removed a passenger from his seat. The airline’s feeble apology didn’t help its situation.
Not surprisingly, social media users mocked United with a range of memes, video clips and comments. They proposed new mottos for the company such as “You carry on, we carry off.” “If we can’t seat you, we’ll beat you” and “We put the hospital in hospitality.”
Surprisingly, some competitors joined the vilification. PR crisis experts and other commentators questioned the wisdom of taking advantage of a competitor’s misfortune or mistakes. United deserves to be mocked, but not by competitors. People may not appreciate a company attempting to take advantage of the situation. Media outlets accused competitors of trolling. Mashable editor Lance Ulanoff said they had “jumped the shark.”
Competitors Try to be Funny
Showing an image of a cigarette, Royal Jordanian tweeted: “We are here to keep you #united. Dragging is strictly prohibited.”
Qatar Airways tweeted: “We’re united in our goal to always accommodate our passengers.” The tweet included a photo of its app update that stated: “Doesn’t support drag and drop.” It also said the airline has “something big to announce on 24 April,” combining an attack on a competitor with self-promotion.
We’re united in our goal to always accommodate our passengers, even with our app updates. pic.twitter.com/1K3q76qOp6
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) April 12, 2017
The purported change in the Southwest Airlines slogan to “We Beat the Competition, Not You” did not originate with the company and never appeared on Southwest’s website or social media pages. Though reported by some news sources, it was “fake news.” It probably originated on Reddit. A company spokesperson said: “Any logo tied to this particular event is not official and was not produced by Southwest Airlines.”
Such trend jacking by some airlines was unnecessary and even inappropriate. Other airlines can gain market share from United simply by being quiet and offering good service. “Qatar Airways straining itself to be funny at United’s expense and blatantly promoting an upcoming announcement probably drains away some of that free goodwill and shifts it to other, silent airline competitors,” Ulanoff argues.
Brands rarely seek to promote themselves through competitors’ mistakes, he adds. When Samsung suffered problems with its fire-prone Galaxy Note7smartphones last year, no other cell phone manufacturers mentioned it. Smart brands probably avoid mocking competitors’ mistakes because they know they might suffer similar misfortune sometime.
A Bit of Revenge
Emirates took revenge on United, according to CNNMoney. In a video, it recalled that United CEO Oscar Munoz previously told an airline trade publication that Middle Eastern airlines “aren’t airlines. They’re international branding vehicles for their countries.”
The video stated: “Well Mr. Munoz, according to TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, not only are we a real airline … we are the best airline.”
Bottom Line: Some competing airlines attempted to promote themselves by making fun of United Airlines and its recent PR fiasco. Kicking a competitor when it’s down is a risky strategy, PR experts warn. Mocking United may not bolster their own reputations or win customers. In such situations, silence and offering quality customer service is the best option.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
