Social media blunder: Nestle censorship fuels firestorm on Twitter and Facebook

In case you missed it, here’s how it played out (over a matter of days). It began with a provocative Greenpeace campaign that blamed Nestlé for the plight of Indonesia’s endangered orangutans. The group posted a parody of a KitKat ad, showing an office worker opening the chocolate bar, but biting into what appears to be an orangutan’s finger. (If you have the stomach for it, it’s online at greenpeace.org/kitkat.)

It might have ended there. But, after the video had been seen by fewer than 1,000 viewers, Nestlé panicked. It forced it off YouTube - a foolish move that only fuelled negative online chatter and landed the brand in the centre of a firestorm on Twitter and Facebook. Suddenly, the issue became an instant cause for many because of the censorship. It prompted consumers to swarm onto Nestlé’s Facebook page, which has over 90,000 fans, to voice their fury. They even posted modified Nestlé logos - such as ‘Killer’ written in the KitKat font - as their profile pictures.

So how did Nestlé respond? Well, here’s the bit that’s truly shocking. Whether overwhelmed or underprepared, the company went on a counterattack - trading insults with its own Facebook fans and ‘unfriending’ them. It deleted threatening posts and modified logos, and posted a warning to users in the hope that it would deter them from sharing their views.

Once the online ‘bullying’ got picked up on Twitter, it went global.

By the time Nestlé’s apology came, the damage was done and the company was caught in a full-blown PR disaster. It surrendered and promised to cease using palm oil in May. But no one really noticed. The swell of negative sentiment continued.

So what can brands learn from Nestlé’s blunder? The painful fact is that the protest might have fallen flat if the brand had reacted better. Without the Facebook row, the company’s ill-conceived attempts at censorship and its heavy-handed approach, Greenpeace’s campaign may not have gained as much momentum. Nestlé would have gained more showing it was listening, instead of getting involved in a shouting match.

For brands keen to leverage social media, the unfortunate incident is yet another reminder of just how powerful its influence is: it can alter the course of mega corporations in a matter of days. Remember Domino’s, which faced a similar backlash after its staff posted a YouTube video spoiling a pizza?

As for Nestlé, it remains to be seen how quickly it can recover its Facebook profile. It’s worth pointing out though that, quite aptly, it changed the corporate statement on its page to read: ‘Social media: as you can see we’re learning as we go.’

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This article was originally published in the 8 April 2010 issue of Media.