Close X
Sunday, December 15, 2024
ADVT 
National

Tim Hortons Controversy Shows The Pros, Cons Of Brand Association: Experts

Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Jun, 2015 06:21 PM
  • Tim Hortons Controversy Shows The Pros, Cons Of Brand Association: Experts
TORONTO — Tim Hortons is getting a crash course in brand association as the company tries to extinguish the fracas over its decision to pull ads for pipeline giant Enbridge.
 
The company has found itself caught in a tug-of-war of loyalties between environmentalists and oil industry supporters after an online campaign to yank Enbridge commercials from its Tims TV in-store digital screens ignited a fury.
 
Richard Bingham, a marketing professor at Humber College in Toronto, said Tim Hortons should have seen this coming.
 
"Part of what Tims has striven for is the sort of brand that is not going to get drawn into controversy, not going to get drawn into politics, and is really careful at staying away from any potential pain points," he said.
 
"Anything that gets beyond a person handing you your coffee and you sitting down to enjoy it ... anything that gets into a political realm is something they don't want to touch with a barge pole."
 
For years, the coffee and doughnut chain has been extraordinarily protective of its brand, mostly associating itself only with community events and charities, but the introduction of digital screens into the retail industry opened up a new revenue stream.
 
Tims began quietly experimenting with Tims TV last spring before rolling out the screens at restaurants across the country. The company, which was recently acquired by the owner of Burger King, described the platform as its own version of a community space, serving as a home for the latest news, weather, local events and branded videos.
 
The main thrust of the concept was to pocket revenues from what's essentially a billboard inside the restaurants. Advertisers could buy screentime in the looping rotation of content.
 
Tim Hortons said the channel, a partnership with the media division of Cineplex, would advertise "complementary" brands like food and automotive companies, but Tims TV has also left the impression with some customers that the company endorses whatever is shown on the screens.
 
Earlier this week, 29,000 people signed an online petition calling for Tim Hortons to pull advertisements for Enbridge, the oil company behind the Northern Gateway pipeline project.
 
When the company agreed to the demands, it almost instantly agitated oil industry supporters who quickly took to Twitter with the hashtag #BoycottTims.
 
The pressure hasn't let up.
 
On Friday, an ardent group of about 20 oil industry supporters gathered outside a Tim Hortons in downtown Calgary to send a message to executives. Some waved signs in support of Enbridge while others proudly sipped from the coffee cups of competitors like Second Cup and Starbucks.
 
Local paramedic Don Sharpe came dressed in overalls and a hard hat and waved a Canadian flag as he pledged to stay away from Tim Hortons coffee.
 
"I won't drink it if they're going to knuckle under a group of people that want to crush them with some sort of petty leftist boycott," he said. "It makes me furious, I find it abhorrent."
 
Gail Thorne called herself a loyal Tim Hortons customer, but said she refuses to return to the chain until the Enbridge ads return to Tims TV.
 
"They should be supportive of all industries, not just listening to a couple whining environmentalists that have, I think, bullied them into pulling the ads," she said.
 
Chris Gibbs, a hospitality professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, said retailers need to understand consumers have different expectations of media companies, which creates a potentially dangerous mixture when the two industries combine.
 
"It was the perfect storm," he said. "As the economy in Alberta dips and people are out of jobs, they're going to get more protective of the oilsands industry and the jobs it creates. If this would've happened at the height of oil (prices), I don't think you would've seen this reaction."
 
Gibbs expects Tim Hortons will take a more cautious approach to in-store advertisements in the future, and the Enbridge controversy will serve as a case study in crisis management.

MORE National ARTICLES

University Of B.C. Gives 95-year-old Practising Lawyer Honorary Doctorate

University Of B.C. Gives 95-year-old Practising Lawyer Honorary Doctorate
VANCOUVER — Sixty-four years after she walked across the stage to collect her law degree, Constance Isherwood was back at the University of British Columbia for yet another ceremony.

University Of B.C. Gives 95-year-old Practising Lawyer Honorary Doctorate

Victoria Man Wants Pit-Bull Cross That Mauled His Small Dog Destroyed

Victoria Man Wants Pit-Bull Cross That Mauled His Small Dog Destroyed
Paul Johnston says his three-year-old Maltese-poodle cross named Cooper was attacked during a hiking trip northwest of the city.

Victoria Man Wants Pit-Bull Cross That Mauled His Small Dog Destroyed

B.C., Petronas Sign Deal Toward Proposed LNG Project In Province's Northwest

B.C., Petronas Sign Deal Toward Proposed LNG Project In Province's Northwest
VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government and Malaysian energy giant Petronas have signed an agreement towards a $36-billion liquefied natural gas project near Prince Rupert.

B.C., Petronas Sign Deal Toward Proposed LNG Project In Province's Northwest

Canadians Dealing With Debt Prudently Despite Record Levels: Fraser Institute

Canadians Dealing With Debt Prudently Despite Record Levels: Fraser Institute
OTTAWA — Canadians are carrying record amounts of debt, but they are managing their finances prudently, according to a report by the Fraser Institute.

Canadians Dealing With Debt Prudently Despite Record Levels: Fraser Institute

Montreal RCMP Arrest 10 Youths Suspected Of Wanting To Join Jihadists Overseas

Montreal RCMP Arrest 10 Youths Suspected Of Wanting To Join Jihadists Overseas
MONTREAL — Ten young people suspected of wanting to join jihadist groups overseas were arrested last weekend at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, the RCMP said late Tuesday.

Montreal RCMP Arrest 10 Youths Suspected Of Wanting To Join Jihadists Overseas

Canadians Warned Of Scams With RCMP And Do Not Call List Impersonators

Canadians Warned Of Scams With RCMP And Do Not Call List Impersonators
The RCMP says several Ontarians have been called by someone who says they are from the Mounties' integrated technical crime unit.

Canadians Warned Of Scams With RCMP And Do Not Call List Impersonators