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The increasing use of internet chat groups to challenge the behaviour of companies was highlighted last month when campaigning against potato crisp manufacturer Kettle Foods flared up on the Facebook social networking website, following media reports that the company was trying to dissuade workers in the UK from joining a union.
Two separate groups formed on Facebook almost immediately, encouraging site users to consider boycotting the company’s products and to email Tesco, Waitrose and other stockists. Several hundred people declared their support within a few days.
The Unite union, which has tried to unionize workers at Kettle’s plant in Norwich in eastern England, said the groups had formed themselves unprompted. The union had not even considered using web chat groups in its own campaign.
Online forums are beginning to be widely used by pressure groups, with Nestlé and HSBC among the targets. In August a campaign run by Facebook users played a part in persuading HSBC to reverse its decision to charge interest on graduate overdraft accounts in Britain.
‘Facebook now allows anyone to establish a pressure group in minutes, so campaigns of this sort will become increasingly common,’ warned Rob Blackie, internet specialist at Blue Rubicon, a London-based corporate communications consultancy that has Cadbury Schweppes among its clients.
Amanda Jordan, founder of the Smart Company consultancy, told EP: ‘This is the future. Web 2.0 is giving ordinary people a platform for their views – right or wrong – in an unprecedented manner. In an age of reference rather than deference this is an exciting but risky development. The CSR expert or practitioner may not be listened to in future, and a lot of people still have to wake up to this.’
There are also concerns that online protests can grow quickly on the basis of unverified allegations with little substance. Martin Togher, who organized one of the Kettle boycott campaigns, told a discussion forum on the food industry-focused Just-Food website: ‘I started one of the Facebook groups and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how much of an issue it was. Four hundred people seemed to agree with me, with more agreeing by the hour. Mostly I started it as I was tired of hearing stories about bullying employers.’
Kettle Foods, which produces hand-cooked crisps and snack foods with an emphasis on ‘natural’ and organic ingredients, says it has been unfairly targeted on its labour practices and has engaged the public relations consultancy Hill and Knowlton to counter what it calls its ‘bruised reputation’.
Shortly after the protest began, the Norwich employees voted 206 to 93 not to join Unite. Kettle said that it had ‘encouraged free and open debate’ on membership, and had been disappointed by the ‘negative online campaigning’. It added that it was ‘absolutely committed to the wellbeing of our employees’. Kettle is controlled by the London-based private equity firm Lion Capital, which specializes in investing in consumer businesses and acquired the interest in 2006.
Two separate groups formed on Facebook almost immediately, encouraging site users to consider boycotting the company’s products and to email Tesco, Waitrose and other stockists. Several hundred people declared their support within a few days.
The Unite union, which has tried to unionize workers at Kettle’s plant in Norwich in eastern England, said the groups had formed themselves unprompted. The union had not even considered using web chat groups in its own campaign.
Online forums are beginning to be widely used by pressure groups, with Nestlé and HSBC among the targets. In August a campaign run by Facebook users played a part in persuading HSBC to reverse its decision to charge interest on graduate overdraft accounts in Britain.
‘Facebook now allows anyone to establish a pressure group in minutes, so campaigns of this sort will become increasingly common,’ warned Rob Blackie, internet specialist at Blue Rubicon, a London-based corporate communications consultancy that has Cadbury Schweppes among its clients.
Amanda Jordan, founder of the Smart Company consultancy, told EP: ‘This is the future. Web 2.0 is giving ordinary people a platform for their views – right or wrong – in an unprecedented manner. In an age of reference rather than deference this is an exciting but risky development. The CSR expert or practitioner may not be listened to in future, and a lot of people still have to wake up to this.’
There are also concerns that online protests can grow quickly on the basis of unverified allegations with little substance. Martin Togher, who organized one of the Kettle boycott campaigns, told a discussion forum on the food industry-focused Just-Food website: ‘I started one of the Facebook groups and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure how much of an issue it was. Four hundred people seemed to agree with me, with more agreeing by the hour. Mostly I started it as I was tired of hearing stories about bullying employers.’
Kettle Foods, which produces hand-cooked crisps and snack foods with an emphasis on ‘natural’ and organic ingredients, says it has been unfairly targeted on its labour practices and has engaged the public relations consultancy Hill and Knowlton to counter what it calls its ‘bruised reputation’.
Shortly after the protest began, the Norwich employees voted 206 to 93 not to join Unite. Kettle said that it had ‘encouraged free and open debate’ on membership, and had been disappointed by the ‘negative online campaigning’. It added that it was ‘absolutely committed to the wellbeing of our employees’. Kettle is controlled by the London-based private equity firm Lion Capital, which specializes in investing in consumer businesses and acquired the interest in 2006.
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