There are multiple cases where companies were able to disappoint their audience.
But one of the most mind numbing PR moves was made by LEGO in the last year. As a short backstory. “Hero of Bricks”, or in german “Held der Steine” is known for his love and affection to LEGO (1). He even runs his own brick and mortar Lego reseller (2). As a PR representative this would be your dream. A free, non intrusive and presumed honest media channel to connect to their customers. But the next example is a study showing when the legal department is not being held in place.
The channel owner received a ceased and desist letter by LEGO (3). In that they claim that the use of the word “Lego” in combination with other products is a copyright infringement.
Results:
This in combination with the subjective declining quality of there products (4) resulted in a rant against LEGO and resulting in the store owner selling LEGO competitors (3). Furthermore the channel creator has started to feature other products (5,6).
Lessons learned:
While your legal department should always be consulted when releasing a new product or introducing a new brand, it may not always be wise to let them communicate with influencers directly.
Lego has sadly not responded to any request for comments.
1.https://www.youtube.com/user/HeldderSteine
2.https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/5294774224#map=19/50.10308/8.68508
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpQF-YlXN0o
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2uoyrjj89A