Urban Outfitter controversy: a trap or an opportunity?
We have already talked about online reputation on the Lift in Do you “Google” yourself, Digital media and Email marketing vs. SPAM. But here is a recent outbreak that has made quite a lot of noise on social media.
Facing allegations of plagiarism online, Urban Outfitters had to cope with a fast growing number of negative mentions online. On May 26th, from an average of a 1,470 daily mentions, the social media roar skyrocketed to a 15,000 mentions in less than 24 hours. Topped with a tweet from Miley Cyrus to her million followers that has been re-tweeted more than a hundred times and the Huffington Post was on the story.
This case certainly reminds us of a few infamous issues brands like Gap, Starbucks or Nestlé have faced in a recent past. So if you still think that your online reputation is not important, think again.
Urban Outfitters promptly faced the issue with an appropriate response on their blog denying the claims on the grounds that Stephanie Koerner’s shiny necklace idea is not unique.
Furthermore the clothing retailer is supporting a strong community of designers who rely on the brand to sell their designs. Urban Outfitters stated that they will not let anyone mar the work of their community nor theirs on false allegations.
Now, I don’t believe this negative outbreak will be damaging on the long run. On the contrary, thanks to these allegations I discovered a new brand and I love their website as well as what they are offering. What’s more, I am pretty sure I am not the only one in this spot. After all, brands like Diesel and Benetton are masters in the art of the controversial communication. Did it have a negative impact on their business? Not one second.
However, Urban Outfitter’s case is more delicate as it raised similar allegations in the past. So if I were part of Urban Outfitter’s decision making process I would definitely get inspired from this crisis and propose an initiative to involve independent designers to submit their creations like lafraise.com or Roseaucarre.com. Involve your consumers and they will support you.
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