Relief efforts backfire on some companies

SINGAPORE - The best of intentions do not always lead to positive publicity, as some companies have found out in the wake of the Japan disaster.

Microsoft received some flak after it promised to donate a dollar to relief efforts for every re-tweet promoting its search engine Bing - a move which prompted American entertainer Michael Ian Black to send out a strongly-worded tweet to his more than one million followers advising Microsoft against using the tragedy as a marketing opportunity.

In contrast, companies such as Skype, which has offered free credits and voice calls in Japan, received public praise.

Mr Glenn Lim, director at 20twenty Public Relations, noted that companies which come out in support of a cause need to be careful - as even well-intentioned plans, incorrectly executed, could backfire.

Following the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the Singapore unit of Groupon unveiled an initiative to allow Internet users to donate to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) by buying Groupon's coupons in various denominations of S$5, S$10 and S$25 - but saw its sincerity questioned by some netizens.

Groupon Singapore told MediaCorp that its move was not meant to be a publicity effort - which is why its contributions were not made public.

ORIGINAL SOURCE