SeaWorld Fail

In 1991, Sealand whale trainer Keltie Byrne, fell into a pool with 3 of her killer whales and they attacked her, dragging her down under the water and killing her.

After that, one of the more aggressive whales in the attack, Tilikum, who had been kept in abusive captivity since 1983, was shipped off to Seaworld. In 1999, a Seaworld trespasser was found dead, draped over Tilikum's back, covered in wounds and abrasions.

In 2010, during a live show with his long-term trainer, Dawn Brancheau, Tilikum leapt out of the pool and grabbed her hair with his teeth, pulling her underwater and holding her under until she died. This was the most aggressive attack given that he had completely scalped her and ate her arm.

Dawn with Tilikum

Unfortunately for SeaWorld, the story and background into Tilikum and how killer whales were treated in captivity by them, was made into a documentary and in 2013, 'Blackfish' was released at the Sundance Festival, quickly picked up by Magnolia Pictures and CNN for wider release.

 Click to watch 'Blackfish' trailer

So why am I telling this morbid story?

Well, of all companies, SeaWorld decided to open themselves up to the public on Twitter on Thursday with the hashtag #AskSeaWorld. 

I mean, aren't you already feeling a bit like....

So, in an effort to increase transparency of the company, SeaWorld opened the floor to the public, and it wasn't quite the response they wanted....

You'd think that the marketing/PR team at SeaWorld would have thought this through carefully.
They must have been aware that questions would have been about how they treat whales, rather than 'what is an orca's favourite food?'.
SeaWorld did not contribute or comment for the Blackfish film, they kept a dignified yet suspicious silence, But now, 2 years later, they speak out! And this is what they had to say.....

NO SEAWORLD NO! You just don't respond to consumers and the public with memes, belittling them and their opinions, ESPECIALLY when you are in such a fragile position. You cannot open yourself up to the public and ask them to ask you any question and then not respond to them, shrugging them off as trolls and trouble makers, treating them like children.

So what did they say when they DID answer? Automated, copy and paste responses.

I can't even.....

Social Media can make or break your brand in an instant.

Many brands try to stay relevant and 'cool' with sarcastic comments or piss-taking memes. They want to have banter with the public and make it hilarious and newsworthy - when in fact it has a detrimental effect.

Tips to avoid this: 
- Decide your tone of voice as a brand and how you speak to consumers
- Align with your companies PR and external affairs team before embarking on hashtags that opens yourself up to questions.
- Prepare different answers for all possible questions
- Prepare for an outcome you weren't expecting

And if you can't do that, then stay away from the hashtag.