What brands can learn from Sonny Co’s fiasco.

How this swimsuit company botched its promotional campaign by not thinking through the details.

Screw-ups in a brand’s promotional campaign are embarrassing to say the least. But when angry customers go viral quickly, the disaster zone is strewn with harsh comments and an even harsher backlash. The message for swimsuit brand Sunny Co was simple and clear: If you cannot deliver what you promised it is no use running for cover.

The swimwear brand launched an Instagram contest (sponsored by the Twazer app, a college marketplace where students can buy and sell anything with other students) promising to give away a red Pamela swimsuit for just the price of shipping and handling to each person who reposted a photo of a model wearing the swimsuit and tagging the company. The actual price of each swimsuit is $64.99.

Twenty hours and a deluge of responses later, Sunny Co inserted a caveat in the conditions that allowed the company to “reserve the right to cap the promotion if they deem necessary.” It also started charging them the full price of the swimsuit. Sunny Co’s attempt to save itself from a bank-breaking situation backfired.

The resulting negative reaction, however, had a couple of small positives. Many people had started talking about a previously little-heard brand and the promoters (college students) learnt a valuable lesson about customer service. The excitement that Sunny Co hoped for did not come in the way it wanted, but the fiasco would have taught them that the devil is in the details.

Source : http://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/what-brands-can-learn-from-this-botched-swimsuit-giveaway/