What led to the PR debacle around HK Express' 11th anniversary visual?

HK Express' recent visual celebrating its 11th anniversary has raised eyebrows, with some netizens saying the image resembles a reference to the tragic "September 11 attacks" in the US. 

Commonly known as 9/11, the "September 11 attacks" refers to four coordinated suicide attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the US in 2001. Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, another hit the Pentagon in Virginia, and the fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The attack led to 2,996 deaths and over 6,000 injuries.

The visual, uploaded on HK Express' Facebook on 23 October, featured the words "11 years," with the design of the "11" slightly distorted and an HK Express aircraft in the centre.

The photo has drawn mixed reactions among netizens. Some netizens said the plane represents the aircraft involved in the "September 11 attacks", while the "11" resembles the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre.

Media intelligence firm CARMA observed over 300 mentions across various social platforms related to the photo. Among these, 21.4% carried a negative sentiment, while 14.3% were positive. Some believe the design references the tragic 9/11 incident, while others see it as coincidental. 

On one hand, some argued that the banner was poorly designed and potentially hurtful, referencing the "September 11 attacks" and emphasising that they should not be trivialised, said CARMA's HK GM Charles Cheung. “We also saw a group of netizens noted the similarity between HK Express' cover photo and actual images of the 9/11 incident,”, he added. 

Conversely, some feel the public is being overly sensitive, yet they understand HK Express' decision to remove the photo, said Cheung.

The controversial visual has been deleted and replaced with a new logo that retains the slightly distorted design of the "11," with "years" positioned below it, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw on Facebook.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to HK Express for a statement. 

Industry reactions

Commenting on the move, Celine Cheung, account director, RSVP Communications, said HK Express responded swiftly this time by replacing the controversial visual and using other engagement tactics to overshadow it.

“Maybe it was because I had seen the shocking news at that time. When I first saw the logo, I immediately thought of the attacks,” added Cheung.

In this case, the image was replaced to pacify concerns, according to Lara Jefferies, managing director at PLUG. "While several media outlets have picked up on the news, online discussion appears to be dying down, signalling to the company that further communication may not be necessary to contain the situation. At this late stage, it could potentially reignite conversations," she added.

Apart from the "September 11 attacks", this incident is reminiscent of Malaysian Airlines’ “My ultimate bucket list” advertising campaign, which was launched shortly after two major disasters, MH370 and MH17, according to David Ko, managing director, RFI Asia. 

MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and remains missing despite extensive searches. Meanwhile, MH17 was shot down on 17 July 2014, over Ukraine while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers and crew.

While a “bucket list” refers to a list of things a person wants to achieve before they die, the campaign faced criticism from netizens. “In that case, the airline rebranded the campaign to “Ultimate to-do list” and apologised, but it had a negative impact on the airlines’ already severe financial difficulties,” said Ko.

“HK Express is in a different situation and I believe they were genuinely unaware that it would be misconstrued. They took swift action to remove the potential offensive graphic and I don’t believe there will be a permanent impact on their reputation,” he added. 

How can brands handle political sensitivity?

While these kinds of incident are challenging, they present an opportunity for a brand to build trust and connection with its customers through transparency and communication, said PLUG's Jefferies.

When dealing with politically sensitive issues, brands must be open and honest and work rapidly to rectify them. “In this case, to enhance its reputation, the brand could have considered immediately posting a sincere apology for the unintentional mistake while reiterating its values, together with the new image,” she added. 

After making the right call to respond to online comments, RFI Asia's Ko said HK Express should continue to monitor sentiment, but take no further action. "As we live in an always-on social media environment today, so having the correct triage procedures to determine if action should be taken in any specific case is important."

Meanwhile, the airline should create an internal company database to store news and information relevant to their industry, ensuring it is regularly updated to prevent public relations crises arising from regional, cultural, or time differences, said RSVP's Cheung. 

Photo courtesy: LIHKG

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