Our thoughts

When HOPA leaves a bitter taste in your mouth…

Posted by Fran Heath in Our thoughts. Post a comment (7)

Unless your computer has been turned off for the past week solid, the likelihood is that you will have seen the “HOPA job quitter” photos, with Elyse Porterfield appearing to quit her job with the use of a white board. Having crafted some witty messages, including the ousting of her boss for playing Farmville it appeared to be internet gold.

I have to be honest, when I first read the post and viewed the photos (and got over the similarities to my own videos, but that’s besides the point), I found myself smiling from ear to ear. I was inspired and in awe at the creativity, passion and the mojo. I wanted to believe the story to be true, heck I nearly stood on my chair and cheered! Damn, if I’d hated my job, I’d have done the same myself. You get the point. I knew that it was going to spread like wildfire and before you knew it the Twitterverse was swamped with links to the post and Facebook links were in full swing. It reminded me of why I loved the web so much, it’s possible for anything to be picked up and spread without manufacturing and sheen. Just pure, simple, good quality content – created by individuals. Grass roots if you will.

Then of course, the rumour mill went into overdrive that the story was a hoax and just as soon as the it had been spread, the hype was dashed and the creators revealed that it had been a hoax. Of course, all of the warning signs were there, the breaking story was on the very site that had created the Trump Tips Hoax and Teenage Text Disaster Hoax.

All of a sudden it was like a light had gone off. The magic was lost and somehow I felt cheated. Extreme? Maybe! Drama queen? Yup, probably. However, fundamentally it still raised the question of whether all viral campaigns and memes are always positive.

If the campaign drives traffic and creates buzz, is it still possible for it to ultimately have a negative consequence? I would argue that it is – after all do you really want to create brand based on being the people that pull hoaxes all of the time? How can you build trust in your brand in the long-term? I’m not denying for a second that it created entertainment whilst it lasted, but I guess my question is, when the truth is uncovered, does it leave a bitter taste in your mouth and can future campaigns help wash that away? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.