How to Destroy Your Brand 101 - Real Story

Patiswiss's Chairman of the Board, Elif Asl? Y?ld?z Tunao?lu, reacted strongly to a social media user's post about moldy chocolate. After the incident caused a huge outcry on social media, following Migros, another supermarket chain, Carrefour, also pulled Patiswiss products from its shelves.

Ankara-based chocolate factory Patiswiss's Chairman of the Board, Elif Asl? Y?ld?z Tunao?lu, reacted strongly to a social media user's post about moldy chocolate. Tunao?lu, who urged the user to check the humidity level in their home and not to defame the brand, threatened legal action by saying, "You have the giant Migros and us against you."

MIGROS REMOVED FROM SHELVES

Following these words, Migros reacted to Tunao?lu and the company by removing Patiswiss products from the Migros Mobile application.

CARREFOUR ALSO HALTED SALES

Carrefour, one of Turkey's largest supermarket chains, also removed Patiswiss branded products from sale, just like Migros. A search on Carrefour's online store showed that the products had been completely removed from the site.

The owner of the famous bakery and chocolate company Patiswiss, Elif Asl? Y?ld?z Tunao?lu, has been in the spotlight in recent days. The Patiswiss incident is being wondered about due to the response given to a user's post on a business platform.

What is the Patiswiss Incident? People are curious about what the Patiswiss incident, which has stirred up social media, is all about. Patiswiss CEO Elif Asl? Y?ld?z, who has been in the spotlight due to layoffs, is now being talked about for threatening a customer.

A user on LinkedIn tagged Patiswiss's CEO and made the following statement:

"Look at my eagerly purchased coffee accompaniments, I'm witnessing moldy chocolate for the first time. And there's still time before the expiration date. There is probably a problem in the preservation conditions in the supply chain process."

Patiswiss owner Elif Asl? Y?ld?z sent the following message to the consumer:

"Do you know these products never mold? Let's say you're right. I think you urgently need to check the humidity level in your home... It's also sad that you don't have any other content to share on LinkedIn. You really need us to make a splash. Look at those below who write 'trash' and such. Everyone is unaware of what our lawyers will demand for defamation, lowering brand value, etc.:):) Also!!!! If such a situation occurred to us, you would tell us and demand compensation! You have your giant MIGROS and us against you. Everyone stands behind the product like that! Good luck to you. Our lawyers will contact you, but I prefer to solve my own problems..."

Elif Asl? Y?ld?z was heavily criticized for her tone and threatening speech on social media. As people learn about the Patiswiss incident, they also begin to wonder how the factory was established. It is claimed that Elif Asl? Y?ld?z founded her company through her husband. Let's examine the details of the Patiswiss Chocolate factory...

How Was Patiswiss Chocolate Founded? The Patiswiss brand was founded in 2004 in Ankara as a 200-square-meter bakery. Patiswiss handmade chocolates quickly gained popularity both in our country and internationally. The growing Patiswiss brand opened its fourth factory in 2022.

Under the management of Elif Asl? Y?ld?z, Patiswiss currently exports to 35 different countries, including the United States and Russia. Patiswiss currently produces 450 different varieties of 12 main categories.

Comment from a Communication Professor on Patiswiss: Brands are not CEOs' ego satisfaction area!

A simple defective product incident brought the company CEO's threatening message to the agenda of Turkey. The CEO of Patiswiss, Elif Asl? Y?ld?z Tunao?lu, caused a major brand crisis with her condescending and threatening communication. Many markets removed Patiswiss-branded products from their shelves out of fear of consumer backlash, and an interesting comment came from one of Turkey's most famous communication professors on the subject.

?isil Sohodol, a faculty member at Bah?e?ehir University's Faculty of Communication, said, "Brands are not CEOs' ego satisfaction area; sometimes brands need to be protected from them too," on her LinkedIn account.

In her comment, Prof. Dr. ?isil Sohodol provided almost a communication lesson. Prof. Dr. Sohodol interpreted the incident as follows:

CEO CANNOT WRITE SUCH A MESSAGE!

A company's CEO cannot, should not, and must know not to write such a message to consumers. A DM can be shared with everyone with just a second's screenshot. While there are dozens of examples of how a leakage situation in internal communications leads to crises, this mistake is unacceptable.

The consumer shares their complaint on LinkedIn. This is not something the brand can control. What the brand can control is how it responds to these complaints, its tone, and how it handles the situation.

The problem could be due to the production line or not fully complying with the storage conditions of the market... If it is not a recurring issue in your general system, the consumer's complaint actually presents an opportunity for improvement for the brand... Before the problem becomes pathological, seeing the problem, generating solutions, and winning over that consumer with correct communication is all about how you react.

And there are 3 ways at that point. The first is to ignore it and wait for the issue to disappear from the agenda (strategic silence strategy), the second is to proactively intervene in the issue, investigate the cause of the problem, and find a permanent solution so that another customer does not suffer, and a crisis does not occur, and establish the necessary communication. (corrective action strategy) And the third is resorting to denial strategies. The most famous of these is "attack/intimidation". Just like what the CEO did. Attacking the stakeholder who says there is a problem and trying to silence them by threatening with lawyers is.

The CEO has taken the most flawed path and there are basic lessons in this incident:

• In an age where what happens in Vegas doesn't even stay in Vegas, the dissemination of every response you give is possible, and there is a price to pay for it. If you don't want to pay that price, simply admitting the incident apologizing, and seeking a solution to prevent it from happening again is the easiest and most effective way.
• Attacking the consumer is not an option.
• Brands are not CEOs' ego satisfaction areas; sometimes brands need to be protected from them too.
• Owning up to the problem does not make you guilty; on the contrary, it makes everything easier to solve. There should be no fear of taking ownership of the problem.
• The basic response strategy to a crisis should, except for very necessary situations, not involve lawyers/legal threats.
• When you violate all these 4 rules at once, this is what happens to you!