Genie Jar Digital — Williamsburg, VA and Hampton Roads | Marketing Agency | Digital Agency

View Original

When Things Go Horribly Wrong

This past week, Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck.

The unveiling didn’t go smoothly, though. A demonstration of their armored glass resulted in two smashed windows.

But that’s not the worst. Did you hear what happened at the 2008 Chrysler Ram pickup event?

Chrysler promoted the new Ram truck with a cattle drive outside the event. But then some of the cattle started mating. Yep, suddenly the vehicle didn’t draw the attention anymore. Chrysler's president squirmed through the rest of his presentation.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. You can practice 1,000 times, but the 1,001st time will go off the path.

How do you respond? Be honest with the failure. Things will sometimes go wrong, no matter how much you prepare.

Tesla responded in ways we should remember for our businesses:

Own It
Tesla’s response: Room for improvement.

Be Authentic
Tesla’s response: We threw wrenches, we threw everything. We even literally threw the kitchen sink at the glass, and it didn't break.

Show Humor About It
Tesla’s response: Guess we have some improvements to make before production haha

Turn It Around for Good
Tesla’s response: We’ll fix it in post.

Your messaging is powerful. Use it wisely — even when things go horribly wrong.

Need A New Logo or Website?

Check out our Starter Pack to move your business to the next level.