Gap veers from its social media policy in Twitter blunder
The retailer was blasted for mentioning shopping on Gap.com in a tweet that referenced Hurricane Sandy. Earlier this year, we celebrated the company’s social media policy.
The retailer, which asks its employees to abide by a social media policy, is taking a beating for tweeting this message as Hurricane Sandy barreled toward the U.S. on Monday:
“All impacted by #Sandy, stay safe! We’ll be doing lots of Gap.com shopping today? How about you?” (The tweet has since been deleted.)
Twitter users blasted Gap, calling the tweet unethical, not cool, tasteless, and so on. Several people suggested Gap and American Apparel—which offered a Hurricane Sandy Sale—donate clothes to flood victims to make amends.
Hours after the offending tweet, Gap issued this explanation:
To all impacted by #Sandy, stay safe. Our check-in and tweet earlier were only meant to remind all to keep safe and indoors.
— Gap (@Gap) October 29, 2012
Earlier this year, PR Daily held up Gap’s social media policy as a shining example for other brands. You can see excerpts from that policy here, but here are some highlights:
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