This year has been filled with corner office execs making dumb mistakes in marketing in advertising their companies, but communications expert Paul Argenti has identified some of the worst of 2013.
His top five list includes a wide array of communications train wrecks, including President Obama’s rollout of his universal health care plan, JPMorgan Chase’s misadventures on Twitter to oust Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, figuratively rubbing patrons of his yogawear the wrong way by saying his yoga pants “don’t work for some women’s bodies.” Argenti told The Post that he “never seems to have a shortage of examples to use for these lists.”
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1. JPMorgan: #AskJPM
Amid a raft of public legal problems, Jamie Dimon’s bank had to cancel a Q&A session on Twitter after it was flooded with snarky tweets to the firm’s #AskJPM hashtag.
My advice: Listen to your communications experts, especially when they are world-class geniuses like JPMorgan’s head of corporate communications Joe Evangelisti.
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2. Lululemon - Shifting blame
Lululemon's latest results suggest it has put the too-sheer-pants (seen above) debacle behind it. Daniel Shapiro Lululemon founder Chip Wilson referencing problems with a line of too-sheer yoga pants said some of his female patrons shouldn’t be wearing them, suggesting heavy women rubbing their thighs together has caused piling and thinning of the fabric.
My advice: Don’t blame customers for your mistakes, and know when to shut up!
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3. Chick-fil-A: Being unauthentic
Argenti’s gripe is with Chick-fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy, who spoke out against gay marriage this year, befriending Shane Windmeyer, an executive director of Campus Pride.
Argenti’s take: Don’t fake it. Stick to your guns and know when to fold your cards.
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4. Carnival: Hiding at the top
Fresh off the cruise line’s disastrous Costa Concordia grounding two years ago (the ship is still stuck off the cost of Italy), the company’s CEO Micky Arison was AWOL even as one of its ships dubbed the Triumph back in early February lost power and passengers endured days of overflowing toilets and putrefying food.
Argenti’s take: Put your CEO front and center when you are in a crisis and under attack.
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5. Obamacare: Inappropriate ads
The President’s already botched health care roll out ran into criticism related to series of ads encouraging teens to sign up for the programs that were “degrading to women or spots that encouraged reckless behavior with young men standing on top of kegs,” Argenti notes.
Argenti’s take: Keep your communications classy, and you won’t have to worry about being attacked by fakers.