Class or crass? Brands walk a fine line in marking Queen’s death

theguardian.com:

Content is king, in #marketingspeak at least, but many brands have discovered that the Queen is not content.

In the tumult of reaction to news of the Queen’s death, social media managers struggled to work out the best way to communicate to their customers.

Was it an opportunity to provide a sombre and respectful acknowledgement of her reign? Or was it just an opportunity?

Dale Vince, the founder of the electricity company Ecotricity and chairman of Forest Green Rovers, tweeted a picture of the Queen mocked up to be wearing a green hat and green club shirt, with the words “Thanks Liz”.

The post provoked hundreds of complaints in reply, to which he responded that he had met the Queen while collecting his OBE. “She was wearing a green dress and we talked about green energy and stuff,” he said. “It was a funny experience, and she had a good sense of humour – unlike some here.”

For commercial organisations, there is a fine line to walk between crass and class. Saying nothing may appear disrespectful, but as customers have become more sophisticated consumers of media, even well-intentioned messages can look like self-promotion.

Friday’s printed newspapers were almost entirely ad-free after advertisers pulled out on news of the Queen’s death, and there is little sign that many are keen to return in a hurry.

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