Reflection #3

To me, one of the most important traits of a company is how it is able to make itself seem relatable. For Apple, they had the iPod campaign that made them seem like the cool kids with modern music and bright colors. But now that we are in the age of social media, we are now seeing new techniques by companies to try and be attractive to younger viewers. This is demonstrated by the company Wendy’s. Not too long ago, the official Wendy’s Twitter account began engaging in what most people online call roasting.

It’s a very simple idea for a major company that has taken to social media: simply find someone who has written a sassy remark to the company through twitter and reply back with an even sassier remark. In the reading by Cory Young "Fight Viral With Viral", there was the rule of "This first Page principle—Tell the truth—begs a series of questions about whose truth needs to be told and about what in particular." (Young 97) In my opinion, this is how companies bring in the most success. Not trying to be a poised, proper, and professional company but rather using a Twitter account the way any other teenager would. Over the last few months, Wendy’s has done just that for several people. They even ended up completing someone’s homework when he said that he would go to Wendy’s instead of Jack in the Box should they complete it.

In my opinion, this shows how large corporations are now able to connect on a much more personal level with their customers than before. And, in a weird way, this is also a great form of advertising as many people who had seen these tweets appear in the news and online had a newfound interest in Wendy’s and would probably end up partaking in Wendy’s as a result of their clever Twitter banter.

Sources (for images of tweets):

McDonald, Andy. "Wendy's Twitter Account Feasts On Trolling Comments For Sustenance." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Jan. 2017. Web. 06 Mar. 2017. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wendys-twitter-account-feasts-on-trolling-comments-for-sustenance_us_586e9c3ce4b02b5f8587bdab>.

Young, Cory. "Fight Viral with Viral: A Case Study of Domino’s Pizza’s Crisis Communication Strategies." Case Studies in Strategic Communications. cssc.org, 31 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 April. 2017. <http://cssc.uscannenberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/v1art6.pdf>.