Here’s what I posted on the Maverick blog today about the brouhaha over Sari Roti:
What corporations can learn from the Sari Roti incident
BRANDS & MARKETING / COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT / CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS / CRISIS & ISSUES MANAGEMENT / CRISIS MANAGEMENT / PR & COMMUNICATIONS / SOCIAL MEDIAOut of the blue, the bread manufacterer Sari Roti came under attack by unverified news postings on social media in the past week.
The attacks came in the form of postings claiming that Sari Roti was supporting the 212 demonstrations by giving out free bread to the demonstrators. Photos were posted of Sari Roti tricycles with a handwritten sign “Free for the mujahids”.
Similar posting kept cropping up and the usual supporters and critics weighed in. By Saturday, the noise had grown so much that Sari Roti’s management felt compelled to make their stand clear.
The issued a press release on their website, ostensibly saying some PR-ese about appreciating how the Super Peaceful 212 rally went on peacefully, how they were committed to uphold the values of democracy, diversity and national integrity of the country and how the incident involving the signs on the tricycles were not officially approved by Sari Roti because they were politically neutral.
It also said that the signs appeared because an unidentified customer bought the bread from the tricycle hawkers, asked them to go to the Monas entrance and put the signs on to feed the demonstrators – all without the knowledge or approval from the Sari Roti management.
Unspun 
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