UPDATE: (4/5/10 7:05 a.m.): Uncle Julio's has changed its Facebook settings so no fan posts are visible and continues to delete posts from people opposed to its choice to serve frog legs. Save the Frogs is mounting protests at all Uncle Julio's locations on April 30 Save the Frogs day. By the way, Save the Frogs has more Facebook fans than Uncle Julio's.
UPDATE (4/4/10 3:55 p.m.): The original blog post below was from 1 p.m. on Sunday. By 3:50 p.m. the Uncle Julio's Facebook admin had simply 'deleted' all of the posts.
ORIGINAL POST (4/4/10 1:00 p.m.): Uncle Julio's restaurant, with 14 locations in five states, has a Facebook page for fans of its border-style Mexican food. But there's an item on its menu that has Save the Frogs fans on Facebook hopping mad.
These frog fans have hopped on over to Uncle Julio's fan page this Easter weekend, while Uncle Julio's staff are off celebrating the holiday, to leave the restaurant chain a message about frog legs.
So far 20+ messages speaking out against frog legs and speaking up for frogs and their protection have been posted: http://www.facebook.com/unclejulios#!/unclejulios?v=wall
Amphibians are currently undergoing what scientists have identified as the earth's sixth mass extinction event in its history. In addition to other environmental causes, a pathogenic fungus is spreading across global frog populations and wiping them out. Frogs raised in India and China for the global frog leg trade are loosely regulated and at risk of spreading this highly virulent fungus.
Now a global environmental crisis is becoming a local PR crisis for this business.
And it's facilitated by the company's own Facebook fan page. Last month, the Nestle company fan page was the target of a Greenpeace-stoked campaign, but Uncle Julio's vs Save the Frogs this Easter weekend shows that you don't have to be a multi-national corporation to be on the receiving end of a very public outcry.
It's what you do with the criticisms that count. Uncle Julio's needs to understand that a large group of people are trying to start a conversation with their chain.
If the restaurant's management listens to these voices, it has an excellent opportunity before it.
It can join this conversation, keep it civil and respectful, and extend the conversation to its loyal patrons who will most likely follow its example of civility and respect.
It can let people know that it has recently been made aware of amphibian extinction rates across the globe. It can share some of the statistics it has learned with its customers. If it can show that its frogs clearly do not contribute to the degradation of other frog habitats or spread disease, it can communicate this to customers. Although, no restaurants serving this product have much of a leg to stand on.
Scientific evidence shows that the trade in frog legs may contribute to the spread of diseases that are a major cause of this mass extinction event. When you consider the risks against the benefits, serving frog legs just doesn't make sense. They're a delicacy and not a staple, are imported from long distances, and don't support a local industry that creates employment.
If Uncle Julio's were (W)right On's client, we'd have them primed to answer tough questions about their choice to serve this product and ready with a plan to announce a change.
Assuming Uncle Julio's took our counsel, we would make this announcement before Save the Frogs Day on April 30; educate loyal patrons about the change through point of sale materials in the restaurant, talking points for servers and online communications via its website and Facebook page; engage directly with those who criticized the practice to build new relationships; and develop a program and promotion to raise funds for amphibian protection and engage patrons in making the world a better place for frogs to strengthen their relationship with the Uncle Julio's brand.
What at first appears to be a crisis can often become an opportunity, but with social media giving a platform for these kinds of communications, a company has to be ready to engage.
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