Thursday, July 10, 2014

2 Things I learned from The Inne of The Abingtons

This might be a little off-topic for the blog but it's something that really struck a chord with me and as a marketer and human being, I felt the need to write about it.  This post is one part opinion and one part fact.

On the night of Wednesday, July 9th 2014 I came across a post on Facebook about a local venue denying their services to a same-sex couple.  By Thursday it had spread like wildfire and was shared thousands of times throughout NEPA social media.


The email from Inne of The Abingtons sent to Desiree Mark

So here are 2 things that came to mind when I witnessed all of this.


There are more open minded people in NEPA than I thought

Scranton and Wilkes-Barre aren't exactly known for being forward-thinking and open-minded.  I'm not saying that in a negative fashion.  I'm just saying that NEPA has a tough time with change.  Change is a hard thing to embrace.  Honestly, it surprised me when I saw my news feeds filled with backlash about The Inne's response to a same-sex couple.  This gives me hope for the place that I call home.

We live in a digital age. Anything can go viral

In this world of instant communication, news feeds and blogs, it's easier than ever to share information.  I first saw the post about the email from The Inne on Wednesday night around 8:30 pm. By Thursday morning I saw it posted by The Scranton Times-Tribune, local TV station WNEP, and numerous friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.  The lesson?  Be aware of what you post online because EVERYONE can find it. 

BY NO MEANS am I condoning the response by The Inne of The Abingtons.  My point is that from a marketing and public relations view, you really need to be careful how you handle yourself online.  Every email, Facebook post and tweet represents you and your brand. Keep that in mind when you work online.  Their brand will forever be remembered as the place that discriminated against the LGBT community.  In the marketing world this is called non marketing-controlled information.  It's stuck in people's heads.  You can never take that back.

I highly suggest that you check out The Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship.  It's excellent knowledge for running your business, and your life online.

In the end....

  1. It is not okay to discriminate against anyone, for any reason, ever.
  2. The Inne of The Abingtons blew it.
  3. There's still a chance for NEPA
  4. This is a great example of what NOT to do with your online presence.

I love where I'm from.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJuly 13, 2014 at 8:46 PM

    Hey Cory,
    I really like the premise of your blog and I enjoyed reading your first post. It's interesting that the Inne of the Abingtons seemed to be trying to "save face" (probably only in the local, rich-snob community), but ultimately made themselves look bad thanks to the exponential sharing capabilities of the internet. It just goes to show that in this digital era, the public relations sector of marketing can make or break your company. The bottom line is the Inne had their head in the wrong place. Discrimination is never a good customer service policy and will ALWAYS backfire. We are, after all, living in a customer-centric world.

    Keep up the good work Cory!

    Cheers!
    -Charlie Fehrenbacher

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