When is it NOT okay to show your support?

I want to start this post off by apologizing for not posting on Monday. There are a few life changes in the works which have made things rather hectic! But hopefully I will be able to post about them soon!

On to the post!

This week marked the anniversary of 9/11. As someone in the Marketing world I know how important it is for companies to show that they are aware of the events of the world and not entirely centered on making a profit. Many companies do this by donating to charity, participating in community events (i.e Ice Bucket Challenge) and making timely posts surrounding holidays.

However, when events such as 9/11 come up, there is a lot of controversy about how a company should handle it. Companies like Build a Bear posted about their support, and the public reacted so negatively they were forced to take down their post. Here was Build a Bear’s post:

In my opinion this was a very tasteful post and shows that they are conscious of an event very close to many people’s heart. However, many people felt the post was distasteful because they felt the company was “pushing” their product. I would agree with this if there was a link included to buy the bear or any of the accessories. However, this is not the case. The company simply used their image to show support. I see nothing wrong with that.

However, being new in the marketing world I am curious about this. This is why I want to turn to you. Do you think companies should refrain from posting this sort of support on an event so near and dear to the hearts of many?

Let me know your thoughts!

TSA has an instagram…Say WHAAA?

Alright folks, my spirits are a bit down today, I just went through a break up. A person I genuinely cared about- and if you know me at all, that is saying something. But, I believe everything happens for a reason and if things are meant to be they will be so I am going to give it time and see what happens. That being said, I needed to post on something that didn’t require much work for me. Thank you TSA!

I am sure many of you are wondering what the TSA could possibly do that warrants a blog post. They have an Instagram! That’s right they are on the social network all about posting photos. So what sort of photos do they post you ask? Well, mostly they post pictures of items that they find that are not allowed on the plane. Now, I don’t know if this is the greatest plan because through them  I am learning about awesome concealed weapons I would have never heard of before! Here are the top 3:

3)

A Credit Card Knife. Now, this is a pretty nifty little weapon because it can be hidden easily and when a thief tries to grab your credit cards they will grab a nice hunk of knife instead. That is good deterrent for any thief!

2)

Cigarette Stun Gun: Now this weapon wouldn’t work for me because I don’t smoke. But for those who do, people would be so used to seeing them with the pack of cigarettes in their hand that the idea that it might be a stun gun would never cross their mind.

3)

Cell Phone Stun Gun: Whhaa? This one is perfect! I am “Timmy Text Message” so this would be the perfect weapon for me to have to defend myself against the street assailants I see daily (or is that in my paranoid little head?). Either way thank you TSA for making me aware of this awesome invention.

Now, of course this post is all in jest and I would never look for nor use any of the weapons mentioned above. But, the thing is some people might. I am not sure that this Instagram account is doing the positive marketing the TSA is going for.

So bloggers, do you know of any other TSA marketing or even personal accounts that are not exactly sending the right message?