Business should avoid social media wall of noise unless it hurts profits after Qantas, Virgin get caught out

Qantas copped backlash on social media after it gifted staff Tim Tams wrapped in packaging worded “happy holidays’. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

‘Twas the night before Christmas — well quite a few nights before to be sure — and Qantas made the mistake of sending some staff a Tim Tam as part of their gift, wrapped in packaging worded “happy holidays from Qantas”.

Why not happy Christmas? some asked. It’s “virtue signalling,” declared others.

The fact that this year’s Christmas also coincided with Hanukkah was bravely pointed out, but that argument was lost in the swirl of social media negativity.

So did Qantas cancel Christmas in a modern day attempt at neutrality and non-offence as was implied? Of course not.

Australia’s biggest airline was awash with Christmas messaging, including issuing special “roo-dolf” in-flight pyjamas on ad hoc flights in December on domestic and international routes, and at the terminal on different days in December, as well as a Santa themed lounge menu.

“We did a lot to celebrate Christmas this year, from building Santa’s Grotto at the airport to Christmas themed pyjamas to working with the Red Cross to deliver presents,” says a Qantas spokeswoman. “We do sometimes say ‘Seasons Greetings’ in our communications with customers because we also know that not everyone celebrates Christmas but it’s still a special time of year.”

Woolworths and Coles have copped flack on social media for selling Hot Cross Buns on Boxing Day. Picture: Dallas Kilponen/Woolworths

What these social media complaints do show is that companies’ attempts at inclusivity and pushbacks against the opposite can be fraught with danger.

Rival airline Virgin Australia found that out the hard way when it was emailed a complaint earlier this year about an ad campaign for a “pride flight” and responded by sharing the criticism on Twitter and calling the complainant a Karen, before needing to apologise for sharing the homophobic message in the first place.

The issue of virtue signalling or being “too woke” grows noisier by the day on social media channels and can be difficult for companies to hold their ground and ignore.

On one hand companies are being called out for non-inclusive practices, but on the other hand they can be quickly slapped down for greenwashing, God-washing, and rainbow-washing if their attempts at inclusivity are seen as marketing rather than genuine.

Academic Lauren Rosewarne says the best thing companies can do is work out whether these online furores are actually having any impact on the bottom line, and if not ignore.

“Just don’t get in the mud with the pigs,” says Roswarne, who is an associate professor in Public Policy Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

Every year for the past few years companies have been accused of cancelling Christmas, and Roswarne believes the best approach usually is to say nothing.

“Coming out too strongly in support of Christian values could do companies a disservice too,” Rosewarne says.

Academic Lauren Rosewarne says coming out too strongly in support of Christian values could be a disservice for companies. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Particularly when you consider that only 43.9 per cent of Australians identify themselves as being Christian, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data from 2021.

“There is no singular celebration of the season and it is not primarily about Christ,” according to Rosewarne.

If marketing celebrations around the birth of Jesus are causing controversy, so too are those around his death.

Coles and Woolworths are facing online criticism for starting to sell hot cross buns from Boxing Day rather than waiting until Good Friday.

One furious Twitter user called it “lunacy” and another calling it a “p**s take.”

A Woolworths spokeswoman would not comment on the issue and Coles had already stared down this issue a few years earlier.

The idea that the two supermarket giants might be trying to do something offensive to God or Christians in general just doesn’t fly, says Rosewarne.

“Woolworths and Coles are not baking hot cross buns and then having to throw them out for some kind of political move — they are baking them because people want to buy them,” Rosewarne says.

The debate falls neatly into the “S” of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies of companies. Earlier this year, the International Data Corporation IDC estimated companies globally will spend $US158bn ($232m) per year by 2025 on ESG-related business services.

IDC is predicting a five-year compound annual growth rate on ESG spend of 32.3 per cent, which means the online anger about whether companies are doing enough, too little, or have the wrong agenda all together is likely to grow.

Much of it will seem frivolous and confined to online forums. For instance, Rosewarne points out that the loud social media debate about whether Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling should be cancelled because of her views on trans-people hasn’t reached the likes of her parents because they are not on social media.

But there is also vast potential for ESG related activism — both for and against to hit the bottom line.

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has had billions of dollars of money pulled from pension funds in US Republican states on the basis it’s pushing “woke capitalism” and improperly trying to change society.

Meanwhile many progressives have accused BlackRock of being a greenwasher and not taking a strong enough stance on ESG issues. BlackRock would not comment.

In Australia, energy giant AGL has had its plans to demerge blocked by billionaire and major shareholder Mike Cannon-Brookes, who used a platform of decarbonisation to trigger a reshuffle of the board.

The best thing companies can do, Rosewarne believes, is to have a social conscience, be inclusive, and ignore the wall of sound unless it’s starting to hit the bottom line.