Is there really no such thing as bad publicity?
If all publicity is good publicity, then the owners of Amy’s Baking Company Boutique & Bistro should be rubbing their hands with glee right now.
But I can’t help feeling that they’re far more likely to be hiding behind their hands in deep embarrassment and regret…
If you haven’t yet heard the wince-inducing details of Amy’s Baking Company and one of the biggest Social Media Meltdowns ever, then the full story is below – including some quite astonishing Facebook posts.
But what can we learn from this online fiasco? Can a company actually reap any benefits from such a high-profile train wreck? And why on Earth has this particular company’s Facebook audience shot up from 2,800 fans to nearly 100,000 fans since the incident?
That surely can’t be right…can it?
Well, let’s rewind to the beginning of the story.
Amy Bouzaglo and her husband Samy are the controversial couple behind Amy’s Baking Company Boutique & Bistro, and they run a troubled restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona.
They recently featured in an episode of U.S show Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares in which the straight-talking TV Chef attempts to put struggling restaurants back on the right track.
In this particular case, Ramsay was fighting a losing battle.
In fact, for only the second time in the show’s long-running history, he conceded defeat and declared the restaurant owners to be far too difficult to work with, and beyond his help.
After the episode was broadcast, Amy and Samy attracted an avalanche of negative online comments throughout the Social Media universe, as viewers vented their distaste for the couple’s business behaviour on sites such as Facebook, Yelp, and Reddit.
The overwhelming feeling seemed to be that the couple were rude, horrible, and vile.
Their business ethics were questioned when they admitted to simply re-selling desserts from other bakeries at inflated prices. And they were even labelled as ‘criminals’ when they were seen to be ‘stealing’ tips from their own waitresses.
So, how did Amy and Samy respond to this wave of online criticism?
They hit back. On their own Facebook page.
And that’s when the trouble really started…
A fairly mild starting point to the fight back.
But that was only the beginning…
Hmm.
Labelling your whole audience as ‘stupid’ is an interesting Social Media strategy.
But how much further could they go?
Oh, much further than that…
When they say ‘Ressling’, I think they meant ‘Re-selling’.
Unless they’re making a point about the popularity of American Wrestling.
Do you hear that, the internet?
Amy’s Bakery are forbidding you to say bad things about their business.
It is forbidden.
It was at this point that the story really began to snowball, as the whole world began to join in the viral fun-poking.
But still Amy and Samy fought back…
Based on that kind of fighting talk, maybe it really was American Wrestling that they had been discussing earlier.
It all got so very confusing.
But at this point, some of the comments underneath the status updates attracted even more attention and LIKES than the original post.
And still the saga rumbled on…
And on…
And on…
Until it got far too offensive for the Martin Print Blog…
For a while, it looked as if this was going to be the final word on the matter…
But then, it seems that they had time to reflect…and to conjure up one final twist to the tale.
Hmm.
Funnily enough, this particular Facebook page was later temporarily replaced with a brand new page which featured all-new posts and updates that just happened to be written in the exact same grammatical style as the alleged ‘hackers’ of the previous page.
Social Media users really aren’t that stupid.
If anything, that last post was the most offensive and intelligence-insulting of all.
Amy’s Baking Company Boutique & Bistro has now returned to its original Facebook home (although all those incredible status updates have understandably been deleted.)
They were perhaps advised to do this by their newly hired PR Company who must surely have recognised some advantage in the jaw-dropping increase in Facebook fans over this brief awkward period.
It’s certainly a giant leap from 2,800 fans to just under 100, 000 fans.
In fact, Amy and Samy are holding a ‘grand re-opening’ of their restaurant tonight, and rumour has it that reservations for the event sold out days ago!
So, could all this have been the shrewdest marketing tactic ever? Was the whole thing just a load of planned publicity for a TV show?
Amy’s Baking Company have just created a Social Media whirlwind and vastly increased their audience along the way. Surely that’s a good thing?
Well, it’s a matter of perspective.
It certainly wasn’t a slice of publicity for the TV Show, as this had already been broadcast in the United States before the Social Media meltdown.
And let’s be honest, we all know that none of this was deliberate.
Yes, it might look as if they’ve attracted a huge new following on Social Media, and they may have sold a few tickets for their ‘grand re-opening’.
But how many of these new followers are genuine ‘fans’ of the business?
And how many of them have simply tuned in to keep an eye on any new developments in the biggest and funniest Social Media disaster of the year?
It’s perfectly plausible that the owners of the business will reap some short-term rewards from the flurry of media activity surrounding this online nightmare.
But their 15 minutes of fame seem destined to end in eventual failure.
It’s practically impossible to build a long-term business future on shock tactics and bad reputation.
The audience will inevitably get bored and disillusioned.
Surely we should be communicating our unique and amazing professionalism instead of our terrible flaws?
Whilst Social Media is obviously a terrific platform for engaging with a wider audience, I still strongly believe in the importance of engaging in the right way.
Handling any type of online criticism can be a particularly sensitive and dangerous area.
For further insight, you might be interested in checking out a popular article from the Martin Print Blog which tackles the thorny issue of Internet Trolls and Negative Feedback.
But how do you feel about the fuss and drama surrounding Amy’s Baking Company?
Do you feel that they were the victims or the perpetrators? Will they fail or succeed on the results generated from the biggest Social Media meltdown of the year?
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