What is brand-jacking?
Fake Voice of Exxon Mobil Corp Still Tweeting
A recent case exemplifies what brand-jacking is and the inherent danger it presents: ExxonMobil was put on the defensive after a Twitter account surfaced acting as a voice for the oil and gas giant. The Twitter user, “Janet at ExxonMobil (ExxonMobilCorp)” used the popular — and public — short messaging service to address weighty issues facing ExxonMobil, from global warming to defenses of company reaction to the Exxon Valdez spill. At the time, Janet was an active voice, engaging users in dialogues, answering questions and even being picked up by industry bloggers as an example of a corporation taking an early step towards adopting a new technology.
The problem was “Janet” was not an employee at ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil had been brand-jacked. Exxon acted quickly to discuss the case with the media, but damage to the ExxonMobil brand had already been done: off-brand messages and opinions — completely out of the control of corporate stakeholders — were being picked up by a global community.
One of the reasons the false Exxon Mobil Twitter account was so problematic was that it followed other brands’ adoption of Twitter, like Southwest Airlines and Comcast, whose activities captured the attention of mainstream media, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Thus, it seemed reasonable that Janet at ExxonMobil was an actual voice of the company, rather than someone taking advantage of an industry trend that Exxon Mobil had overlooked.
Extracts from http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/21110.imc
The real identity of Janet of ExxonMobilCorp is revealed. The person DOES NOT represent Exxon Mobil Corporation. In other words, the person is a fake. Read more here.