John Harrington
Sep 12, 2022

Brands urged to ‘read the room’ as UK mourns

Marketers have been advised to tread carefully on social media as a period of mourning for the Queen begins, amid a backlash at posts from some brands

Brands urged to ‘read the room’ as UK mourns

Criticism was leveled last week at a number of brands for posting tributes to the Queen that some perceived as being in poor taste. This was especially true of posts that incorporated logos or other branded elements:

 

 

 

 

Separately, there's a concern that scheduled social media posts from brands that could now feel inappropriate will need to be deleted.

 

 

The official period of mourning is set to last for 10 days from 9 September and brands will need to be alert to the general mood over this time and adapt their posts and campaigns.

 

One comms professional has put together a guide for brands:

 

 

Stephanie Bennett, managing director of UK PR agency Battenhall, offered succinct advice:

 

On Friday, The Government issued guidance for the public and businesses on the use of social media and websites during the period of mourning. It says: "Online communication channels can... be used to reflect the demise of Her Majesty and participate in the period of National Mourning.

 

"Organisations can acknowledge the mourning period by making changes to the homepage of their website, for example, with the use of black edging or black banners. Organisations and individuals may also wish to share their memories of Her Majesty online.

 

"There is no set way to mark the passing of Her Majesty on social media. Organisations may wish to review their planned content for the period. Any changes to websites or social media pages should take into consideration accessibility requirements for visually impaired users."

 

(This article first appeared on PRWeek.com)

Source:
Campaign India

Related Articles

Just Published

1 day ago

No internet, no problem: AI dials up Bharat

Centerfruit’s tongue-twisting Voice AI campaign proves rural India doesn’t need screens to engage—just smart tech with local soul.

1 day ago

Magna forecasts a 7.7% increase in India’s adex for ...

With no elections or cricket highs, India’s INR 1371 billion adex proves that digital muscle, data depth, and media shifts are driving real momentum.

2 days ago

WPP global comms boss Chris Wade steps down

Former Ogilvy UK CEO Michael Frohlich will replace Wade, who leaves the holding company after 13 years.

2 days ago

Cookies crumble, privacy prevails: Marketing’s new ...

The era of lazy personalisation is over. Epsilon senior vice president for analytics believes that marketers must now trade third-party tracking for first-party trust, clean data, and cultural transparency—or risk fading into irrelevance.