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On August 11th, 2017, white supremacists carried TIKI Brand torches at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. This put the TIKI Brand company in a strange position. The company had nothing to do with the choice for these individuals to use TIKI’s products in a violent rally where white supremacists touted the Nazi slogan, “Blood and Soil.” However, now TIKI’s products were photographed in widely shared images of a violent white supremacist rally, one with which the company doesn’t want to be associated. What’s a brand to do?

Be Aware of Negative Publicity

As a business owner, you may be faced with negative publicity, like TIKI Brand was, because of how customers use your products or services. After the white supremacist rally, if someone searched for TIKI online, the recent news results surrounding the rally came up. If the company didn’t respond to this event, then only articles about the rally itself would exist in the digital space.

When faced with this situation, you have a choice. You can hope that the publicity goes away or that no one notices that your products were used in this way. Or you can take advantage of the situation and grow your business with it. TIKI Brand wisely utilized the situation to increase brand awareness through the situation with a written message.

Make a Statement

TIKI Brand issued a formal response to the Charlottesville protests through its Facebook page. This statement quickly denounced the use of its products in the rally. While your company may try to stay out of politics, sometimes a political message is necessary when your company is inadvertently involved or the issue has a clear right and wrong. Had TIKI not issued a formal statement in response, the company might have seemed complacent with what happened during the rally.

Include Your Product Messaging

The response served a dual purpose. Yes, the response removed the company from any association with the rally. However, the response also gave TIKI more positive publicity that it didn’t have to pay for, and smartly included information about how consumers could use their products in a positive way. TIKI Brand Products included the following line in its statement: “Our products are designed to enhance backyard gatherings and to help family and friends connect with each other at home in their yard.” If your business issues such a statement, make sure to include product messaging in response.

Utilize Social Media

Social media is a great way to respond to current events, political or not. This is because social media messages go out instantly, and can be short. If TIKI Brand decided to write a press release, the response would have taken too long to be relevant. Using social media allows your company to immediately comment and enables national news media to see your response. This is part of why there are so many news stories that include TIKI’s official response.

It’s possible to use writing to turn negative publicity into a highly effective marketing strategy. Using TIKI Brand’s example, an early and positive response is key. Relying on social media can help spread the word faster.