Correct mistakes in time
On July 10, China time, Tencent and Laoganma jointly issued a statement, saying that the misunderstanding between the two sides has been resolved, and Tencent will apologize to Laoganma, withdraw the lawsuit, and report the contract fraudsters to Guiyang Public Security Bureau. So what’s going on? Let’s break it down step by step.
The story began on June 30, Chinese time, At that time, the Chinese Judicial Documents website published a civil ruling that Tencent sued Laoganma for placing 10 million yuan in advertisements on Tencent, but Laoganma ignored the contract and owed it for a long time. The Nanshan District People’s Court of Shenzhen agreed with the plaintiff’s request, and they will seize and freeze the property of the defendant Laoganma Company worth 16.24 million yuan in the next days.
Why This will Happen?
So here’s the problem. Lao Gan Ma and Tencent are both big companies. Although one is an Internet giant and the other a leader in chili sauce, it seems that they don’t have to go to such a big deal to cheat each other out of money. Lao Gan Ma also immediately responded that they have never signed a contract with Tencent or conducted any business cooperation. So after a series of investigations, we found that it may be Tencent, and not Lao Gan Ma cheated, but a group posing as Lao Gan Ma.
First of all, I think this is a mistake Tencent made due to the negligence of the staff when seeking cooperation. Because Tencent is actually looking for business cooperation, but they found a copycat version of Laoganma company in the search engine, and the company posing as Laoganma cheated with Tencent cooperation. The good thing, though, is that Tencent has actively sought solutions and sincerely apologized. I think this is at least an apology from a big company and social media.
The response of the brand
On July 1, Tencent responded to “cheating” on its official Weibo, and stated that in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, Tencent solicited similar clues with 1,000 bottles of Laoganma hot sauce and limited edition orphan products as rewards. At the same time, Tencent uploaded a video about ridicule and stupidity on the bilibili video website. The release of two different types of content compares Tencent’s own image to that of a goofy goose. The release of videos and Weibo messages attracted many people to watch. The reasoning has been downplayed, and people have been informed that Tencent is a company that corrects errors when they know it. This approach is far better than deleting posts on the Internet. Tencent apologized to Laoganma Company on social media and society on July 10, and dropped all allegations and lawsuits against Laoganma Company on the same day.
In my opinion, the requirements of The legal department and advertising department of Tencent should be raised, or the management of relevant departments should be more meticulous and strict because this matter will make the public think it is a joke, and also make us think that Tencent’s ability and whether should be questioned. But at the same time, their public relations department responded to this matter quickly and positively, which would make it easier for the audience and Lao Gan Ma to recognize their brand, or at least be sincere. And even though it started out as an own mistake, after a series of news, Tencent has launched a wave of ads on social media for itself and Lao Gan Ma, both of which are now win-win situations.
To error is human; to forgive divine.
This can certainly be avoided, and customers and the public will prefer companies that have made some mistakes because then we will feel that they are not perfect. It’s these social media responses that we’re interested in, such as promising to pay attention to this mistake next time. If you do it well, we will feel that the company has a good reputation and integrity; If they do badly, customers will be less willing to accept the brand. So when Tencent promises that it was negligent and makes a sincere apology to Laoganma and the media, as well as their next cooperation with Laoganma, the audience will find it acceptable.
