McDonalds in Singapore turns Hello Kitty promotion into a social media meltdown
McDonalds Singapore offered Hello Kitty dolls as part of a promotion deal when customers placed an order through the McDelivery system. The marriage between the beloved character and fast food was supposed to be a total trump; but in the case of McDonalds Singapore, the huge unmet demand for the kitty turned things ugly online. Customers unleash their fury on McDonalds Singapore’s Facebook page but did not receive any feedback or updates from the brand. The negative sentiments immediately grew out of hand causing a social media meltdown (full story here).
A lesson learnt: now that customer service/social media service operates 24/7, speed is critical. Rapid decision-making and instantaneous response are requirements. For more tips on how brands should brace for crisis in the social media age, visit our playbook for digital crisis and issue management 3.0 here.
With 150 Million Users in India and Middle East, Chat App Nimbuzz Continues to Push Telco Strategy
Nimbuzz, the Netherlands-based messaging startup, is driving the buzz in Southeast Asia. As the likes of WeChat, LINE, KakaoTalk take large shares in China, Japan and Korea; Nimbuzz has a strong foothold in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. To break into markets where credit cards are not common, Nimbuzz’s latest strategy to scale is to partner with major mobile telecos. Unlike its counterparts who spend big ad dollars, Nimbuzz maximizes its reach via telco billing. Read More
China Mobile is preparing to launch a mobile Skype/WeChat competitor
Combating the rapid rise of mobile messaging apps (WeChat, LINE, Whatsapp, etc) and the likes of Skype, the world’s largest mobile operator China Mobile is finally developing its own rival product, Jego. SMS is losing relevance and messaging alternatives are dominating, prompting China Mobile to move quickly in order to grab a piece of the instant messaging pie. Jego has all the standard features but its core advantage is its ability to make voice calls to landlines and mobile phones, rendering it like a Skype and WeChat combination. Scheduled to launch this June, it will set fire to the already heated app war. Read More
Ebay gets a Pinterest makeover
As the digital landscape gets more cutthroat, a way of staying on top is to simply copy what’s been done best. Ebay has recently launched a “new way to shop” feature. It bears a close resemblance to Pinterest’s iconic image grid interface. Users can enter their interests in the system, a personalized homepage feed will then appear in the same aesthetically pleasing style of Pinterest. The makeover is already available in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Read More
Meanwhile, Facebook is adding two new features – verification and hashtag – to its ever-updating interface. Sounds familiar?