Smartphone brands in badbuzz turmoil

The smart mobile phone, commonly known as smartphonesit has become essential for most of us. In the space of a few years it has gone from a communication tool to a fashion item, just like your clothing style. This market, which is constantly growing (there are more cell phones than toothbrushes in the world), is however based on anything but brilliant foundations. The magazine» Cash investigation“, broadcast on France 2 on November 4, he highlighted the questionable practices of the high-tech industry.

Electroshock

I admit, it wasn’t the first time I heard about the working conditions of workers in Chinese factories. The Foxconn factory, which works for most major smartphone brands, has come under the media spotlight on several occasions for the disastrous way it treats its workers.

This time we go even further. Del children put to work 13 hours a day from the age of 13for €160 and two days off per month, mining in the Dominican Republic of Congo without any security measuresthe exploitation of neodymium that causes pollution of 11 square kilometers and numerous cancers among the population… The production of this neodymium, used to make the small magnets in our smartphones, creates one ton of waste for one ton of final product !

No brand is spared from reporting. Apple, LG, Samsung, Sony, HTC, Huawei, Wiko, all carry with them the stigma of the suffering of populations too poor to have no choice but to send their children to work. When you compare the cost of labor to the colossal profits of these different companies, it’s enough to make you dizzy.

Suddenly, the concentration of new technologies that accompanies me every day seems much less attractive.

What do brand communications managers do?

The most shocking thing about this report is the silence of the brands. Ubiquitous in the media to praise the quality and innovation of their products, they completely ignore journalists’ questions. We thus follow the wanderings of Elise Lucet and Martin Boudot, desperately trying to obtain information, a meeting, an interview from the different brands.

Everyone is silent, except the director of the WikoMichel Assadourian, who will agree to speak in front of the cameras. During the interview his attitude seems sincere, he does not deny the facts and shamefully admits his ignorance. The photos and videos seem to move him and he allows his brand to maintain a fundamental sympathy, hoping that the words will be followed by the deeds. Wiko has thus defused the media bomb that was hovering over his head.

How can we still choose silence in the face of a moment of crisis in our time? How to stay silent when the brand’s reputation is at stake? Even worse, how can one remain silent when the most repugnant practices are brought before one’s eyes?

We always communicate, whatever we do and silence is a form of communication. What does it release? Panic, bad faith, cult of secrecy, shame, knowing you have been caught red-handed? One thing is certain, it does not inspire a sense of responsibility! After numerous attempts to contact those responsible SAMSUNGthe Cash Investigation team decides to intervene. So it would almost make you smile (bitterly) at the sequence shot during a Samsung keynote (big show in honor of the brand’s latest device) while the CEO of Europe and Florence Catel, director of communications, struggle to free themselves from Elise Lucet’s tense microphone. Embarrassed silence, commercial smile and hasty escape. This is how we manage communication at Samsung.

Chez Huaweiit’s worse. This could become a textbook case! Once again, the reporting team sought an interview numerous times. In vain. When Elise Lucet finally manages to approach him and ask him precise questions on equally specific topics, we see the French president of the Chinese brand, François Quentinhe gets up like a rooster, asks for an identity card and press pass from one of the best-known faces of French journalism and flees to his car.

But all this might seem like «journalistic phobia» (nowadays anything is possible), but this gentleman doesn’t stop there. Two days later, convinced of his right, he went so far as to declare during the sector conference: » I have activated all my networks and Mrs. Lucet will no longer interview any big bosses, except those who want extreme sensations or Media Training courses! » Boss from another era, communication from another era, we can imagine the pressure that must have been exerted on him to reverse his statements a few days later on Twitter:

I was destabilized by the approach of #CashInvestigation. I respect the journalistic work of this team.

— Francois Quentin (@FrancoisQ) 8 November 2014

I don’t mean to damage the team’s reputation #CashInvestigation and sincerely regrets these poorly expressed comments.

— Francois Quentin (@FrancoisQ) 8 November 2014

The greatest weight against brands: public opinion

If brands don’t communicate during the conception of the report, they suddenly become talkative again the day after the report is broadcast. The ugly buzz generated on social networks brings them out of silence. Too bad I waited so long!

It’s always best to get involved in the debate when people talk about you, to make your voice heard. Whether you are at fault or not, you can explain the reasons for a bad image, a bad choice or apologize for your mistake. Silence reinforces the idea that the company is aware and wants to protect itself.

You don’t get rid of a bad buzz by running to your car or saying vindictive things. All of this only contributes to the poor image of your brand. As Olivier Cimelière rightly says: “ Trying despite everything to pass and reject journalistic requests with contempt, Huawei has also «earned» the certainty of being permanently in the media’s sights. »

We cannot always remain silent, especially when public opinion takes over the debate. We thus saw the first apologies emerge, those from Huawei, Microsoft, Alcatel. Brands make their mea culpa through press releases, like “we didn’t know, but we promise, we’ll fix everything”. We are socially responsible, blah blah blah…»

I believe it wasn’t the report itself that caused the reaction from some brands, but it was the chain reaction that followed from consumers. These brands, which took over social networks very early, still struggle to understand the impact of consumer discontent. Simple press releases are not enough, more will be needed to guarantee one’s good will.

Beyond brands, our responsibility!

For once I would like to go beyond the «Communication» theme of my blog. Certainly, we can point the finger at the evil industrialists who pollute the planet and enslave children. Like them, we could say “we didn’t know”, but not anymore. It is certain that we will not stop using our smartphones and go back. However, we can make choices.

First of all, make sure it doesn’t end there. We all know it the bad buzz doesn’t last. This is what some brands are counting on, including Samsung which does not publish anything on its Facebook page, simply waiting for the storm to pass. It is content not to see the messages of indignation from consumers, that everything will be fine and that everyone will return to their consumption habits.

You can continue to react on social networks and make your voice heard. As the report concludes, some textile brands in the 1990s had to change some of their habits in the face of consumer discontent. It’s still not perfect, far from it, but there have been improvements.

If this happened in the 90s, today the voice of consumers matters more. React on smartphone manufacturer profiles. Your loyalty cannot be placed on brands that do not respect workers’ rights, children’s rights and that pollute excessively.

I certainly knock on doors. My speech may seem utopian, a little blunt, but seeing so much destruction for simple gadgets that are far from being essential seems indecent to me. For my part, my Sony Xperia will see its lifespan significantly extended and my next purchase will take into account the ecological and ethical dimension of the brand. Think about it, if your device costs you a lot, it includes the price of the blood of the poor. Is our phone worth this price?