Misplaced kindness
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 5:00 am
A company or entrepreneur should only launch a philanthropic activity related to a tragedy if it is appropriate and can actually help.
If you have to adapt the idea even slightly to the event, it's better to just send the money to the victims and release a press release about it.
Anti-example: Elon Musk and his "action" with promises afghanistan whatsapp number data to save children in trouble in Thailand on a mini-submarine created by one of the billionaire's companies. The submarine was not suitable for such purposes, and Musk himself was accused of hype. The story ended with a decrease in the capitalization of his main brainchild by $2 billion.
Launching the initiative immediately after a reputational scandal
Here, in the case of a decision to neutralize the negative through charity, it is important for a business or entrepreneur to take a truly useful step, otherwise public indignation will only increase.
As an illustration, we will cite the story of American fashion designer and entrepreneur Virgil Abloh. After social media users condemned him for a post expressing outrage over the looting of stores that occurred at the start of the Black Lives Matter protests, the designer posted a screenshot of a donation to a fund to fight racism. He sent the organization only $50. Social media went wild in response. After all, the cheapest product of his brand costs twice as much. After that, Abloh began to talk about larger donations, but his authority was already undermined.
A more recent example is the charity initiative of influencer Sergey Kosenko: due to a scandalous video in which he throws his tiny son into a snowdrift, the blogger announced the launch of assistance to children with special needs. Here, the audience perceived philanthropy more favorably, but it also looks ambiguous.
If you have to adapt the idea even slightly to the event, it's better to just send the money to the victims and release a press release about it.
Anti-example: Elon Musk and his "action" with promises afghanistan whatsapp number data to save children in trouble in Thailand on a mini-submarine created by one of the billionaire's companies. The submarine was not suitable for such purposes, and Musk himself was accused of hype. The story ended with a decrease in the capitalization of his main brainchild by $2 billion.
Launching the initiative immediately after a reputational scandal
Here, in the case of a decision to neutralize the negative through charity, it is important for a business or entrepreneur to take a truly useful step, otherwise public indignation will only increase.
As an illustration, we will cite the story of American fashion designer and entrepreneur Virgil Abloh. After social media users condemned him for a post expressing outrage over the looting of stores that occurred at the start of the Black Lives Matter protests, the designer posted a screenshot of a donation to a fund to fight racism. He sent the organization only $50. Social media went wild in response. After all, the cheapest product of his brand costs twice as much. After that, Abloh began to talk about larger donations, but his authority was already undermined.
A more recent example is the charity initiative of influencer Sergey Kosenko: due to a scandalous video in which he throws his tiny son into a snowdrift, the blogger announced the launch of assistance to children with special needs. Here, the audience perceived philanthropy more favorably, but it also looks ambiguous.