The thing about acting in real time, and being right on top of trends as they bloom in social media, is that it can be dangerous as well as effective.
When the Netherlands scored two late late goals to beat Mexico in the World Cup on Sunday evening the social media team of KLM, the Dutch airline, were quick to react with a tweet that had clearly been prepared in advance.
Doubtless at the time it seemed like a light hearted enough way to celebrate their own country’s advance to the quarter finals but really, when is the best celebration about rubbing the noses of the team you have beaten in the dirt. Especially after a controversial penalty deep into injury time.
Never mind the very quick and dismissive tagline of adios amigos, take a look at the symbol of the moustache, sombrero and poncho on the departure board. Ouch.
Said among friends over a drink or two, either of Heineken or Cerveza, that might have raised a smile but for a corporate account the rules are much tighter.
Especially so when upsetting and insulting a country of 120 million into which you fly daily.
“It was meant to be a joke,” KLM spokeswoman Lisette Ebeling Koning told the Associated Press, adding that the airline never intended to offend Mexicans, “But there was too much negative reaction.”
The tweet was deleted after half an hour after a firestorm of abuse from those offended by it.
Reputation is a delicate asset and one that is built over lifetimes but that can be destroyed in a minute, or in the modern era, in 140 characters.
It may well be that KLM will ride the storm and that the apology will suffice but it will definitely cost in the short term and will colour many people’s perception of the airline for longer than the smile it might have generated among those who pressed ‘Tweet’.
