If there is ever a time when all eyes are on both television and social media, it’s college game day! An unfruitful tweet left a taste of bitterness in the mouths of Home Depot’s followers, with a side of racism to boot. As seen below in the graphic from Chicago Sun-Times, an image of two african american drummers were sat beside someone with a gorilla costume: “Which drummer is not like the others?” accompanied the distasteful picture.

What this further proves is the power of social media in illustrating a company’s fragility when it comes to the light in which you are publicly held. Putting one foot wrong can lead to a massive plummet of their reputation which can take a very long time to revive. Just look at Golden Corral & Kitchen Aid. Home Depot tackled the situation by replying to everyone who complained via twitter and copy/pasting the same message to each follower.

These replies were subsequently accompanied by the following tweet published by corporate:

We have zero tolerance for anything so stupid and offensive. Deeply sorry. We terminated agency and individual who posted it.

— The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) November 7, 2013

Your Crisis Management Warehouse

The agency in question remains unknown, however it is evident they did not have any formal protocol in place in releasing content to their social channels, as you would with social tools such as Sprinklr. Can Home Depot handle this escalated social crisis? That remains to be seen. Are they now in the hunt for a stellar and proven agency to handle digital marketing objectives? Most definitely. Is the reputation of Your Home Improvement Warehouse forever stained? That is up to YOU to decide.

About Leon McLean

Leon McLean is a Project Manager and Trainer at SayItSocial, focusing on digital marketing strategy and project development as well as live, virtual and eLearning training initiatives. Please connect with Leon on... Google +

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