Protecting a Retail Chain's Image During a Supply Crisis

The challenge

The problem started with a system failure at the distribution center near Poznań. As a result, fresh products were missing from the shelves in a dozen stores, which customers noticed immediately after the points opened. Within the first 2 hours, 47 negative comments and 3 videos on TikTok with the chain's tag appeared, which started gaining reach at a rate of 300 views per minute.

The EcoMarket board did not know the scale of the phenomenon and whether the topic would reach local newsrooms. There was a real risk that evening news editions would pick up the image of empty fridges. Every hour of delay threatened a drop in trust, which in the food industry usually means a 6-9% smaller shopping basket in the following days.

Our approach

Three of our analysts, including Marek and Joanna, who watch social media, went into action. We launched a dedicated alert for keywords related to the lack of supplies and specific city names where the problem was most acute. Odra Media Link acts in such situations without unnecessary procedures – we just call the client with specifics.

We analyzed the sentiment of comments under the videos to check if people were really angry or just surprised by the situation. In the 18th minute after detecting the trend, we delivered a report on reach and a list of 9 key journalists who might ask questions in the near future to the board. We watch facts, so we focused on what happened instead of guessing.

The solution

We prepared a simple, honest message about the technical failure and a specific damage repair deadline, set for 6:00 AM the next day. Instead of waiting for phone calls from the media, we sent the information to local newsrooms before journalists managed to go to the stores with cameras themselves.

We also implemented a response scheme for comments under posts on Facebook and TikTok. Everyone who wrote about empty shelves received information on the repair status and apologies in less than 32 minutes. Thanks to this, the discussion stopped being emotional and became informational. There was no fluff, just a clear declaration: we are fixing the error, stock will be there in the morning.

Results

The wave of negative comments died down before 7:00 PM, and the topic did not appear in any national news service. Customers appreciated that the company did not bury its head in the sand and spoke openly about the technical fault.

Timeline

1. 11:04 AM
   OML system detects first negative TikTok video with client's tag.
2. 11:22 AM
   Report on the threat scale and reach passed to the EcoMarket board.
3. 12:15 PM
   Statement publication and start of social media comment moderation.
4. 2:00 PM
   Direct contact with 9 local newsrooms to explain the situation.
5. 7:00 PM
   Extinguishing the negative trend and stabilization of the info field.