Build-A-Bear: When Bad Publicity Is Good Publicity

I'm not a fan of the phrase, "any publicity is good publicity" because, in reality, it's not. If you receive bad publicity, you need a crisis communications manager/team to help you fix the damage and restore a good reputation. Bad publicity can completely tarnish your reputation. One of the reasons why I still won't fly United is because of their scandal a few years ago. Things like that really stick with people. However, I think a good example of an exception is Build-A-Bear.

In early July 2018, Build-A-Bear rolled out a 'pay your age' promotion, which they had to end early due to intense crowds. Although the company should have planned for something like such, it still happened and I think their response is an excellent example of how a bad publicity can be easily turned around. What Build-A-Bear did was issue a swift apology and allowed those who were affected download a voucher online. On top of this, the company is allowing 'pay your age' for birthdays, which I think is a great idea. Ultimately, I think many people were satisfied with this response given that there wasn't much public uproar after the release of information.

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Photo by ALP STUDIO on Unsplash