The Tide Pod Challenge: : Responding to the Threat of Viral Internet Phenomena / Blair Nelson, Patrick L. Schultz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nelson, Blair, author.

Schultz, Patrick L., author.

Series:

SAGE business cases.

SAGE business cases

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social responsibility of business--Case studies.

Social responsibility of business.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

London : Society for Case Research, 2025.

Summary:

This case study focuses on evaluating a company's response to an unexpected social environmental challenge--in this case, a viral Internet sensation known as the Tide Pod Challenge--and assessing its ethical obligation regarding this challenge. Several factors complicated the situation. Proctor & Gamble, the company that launched Tide Pods, did not create the Tide Pod Challenge--it was an emergent result of viral social interaction through the internet, especially on YouTube. However, the challenge did involve Proctor & Gamble's product, and the company took some measures to reduce the attractiveness of this activity among the public, mostly through social media advertising. YouTube also played a role in the situation. Despite the hit to its reputation, the negative publicity from the Tide Pod Challenge did not seem to hurt the product's appeal to consumers; if anything, the publicity seemed to increase the visibility of the brand, although that could have also increased the number of people engaging in the challenge. This case study is most appropriate for introductory courses in ethics, social responsibility, management, marketing, and business and society, at the junior/senior undergraduate or MBA level. Due to its brevity, the case study can effectively serve as an entry point into course coverage of issues such as company reputation (especially in the presence of social media), the challenge of the internet and viral social media, corporate social responsibility and ethics, and stakeholder management. This is a descriptive case that allows students to explore the meaning of corporate social responsibility in a relatively new area: viral social phenomena.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781071980583

1071980580

OCLC:

1483993340