Xavian and Pack's brand sentiments drop to 0% positive as abuse videos circulate

Dog behavioral company Xavian and Pack is under fire after videos began circulating on social media of its staff members allegedly mistreating two dogs. It's brand sentiments, according to media intelligence firm CARMA was 0% positive and 63.6% negative following the incident with mentions "skyrocketing".

Additionally, media monitoring company Truescope saw that from January 15 to 18, there was a strong tide of public disapproval, culminating with over 15,000 engagements across all major public social media platforms. A significant 66.7% of responses were characterised by feelings of anger, disgust, and disappointment, according to Kelvin Koh, managing director at Truescope.

The majority of these reactions called for harsh punishment, including imprisonment and caning, for the trainers. There was also a widespread consensus that these individuals should be permanently prohibited from working with animals, and strong calls to boycott their business, said Koh. 

The footage, which was originally posted by an account dedicated to two cats, Monkey and Bear, showed trainers hitting a dog and forcing another one to sit down in order to take a picture of them. 

Other videos have since emerged of trainers dragging dogs into the water at the beach forcefully and of dogs being uncomfortable with the trainers. 

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Since the incident, Xavian Mar, the owner of the company has come out to say that he is aware of the videos circulating and that this is not what his company stands for. 

"As a dog parent myself, I would definitely not want my dogs to be treated that way," he wrote in a social media statement. 

He added that he was not present in the videos taken and that the staff in them have been suspended with immediate effect. 

"We [will] be scrutinising all aspects of our services moving forward to avoid such events from happening," he added. 

In a follow-up statement on Instagram Stories, Mar noted that he has been reflecting on the situation and how it could have gone undetected under his care. 

"I understand that nothing I do can make up for the fact that some dogs were mishandled and I fully recognise that more should be done on my end to ensure their well-being so that situations like this will not happen again," wrote Mar.

He then invited the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) to look into the incident and said that he welcomes their recommendations to avoid a future similar situation. 

While the staff in question have since been fired, brand sentiments for Xavian and Pack continue to remain low with many on social media ripping apart Mar's apologies and critising him for shirking responsibility and even pulling up past TikTok videos that he has done with the dogs under his care that were previously viewed relatively positively. 

According to CARMA, the word cloud surrounding the dog behavioral company included words such as 'hitting', 'physical', 'suspended' and more. 

This is despite the fact that Mar has had positive reviews both on social media and on his site prior to the incident. With the ongoing social media barrage, what can brand such as Mar's do to navigate the effects of selective framing on social media?

The dangers of a social media business

For starters, brands must remember that consumers trust other consumers a lot more than what a brand says, according to Charu Srivastava

"That is why consumer reviews are so important. It is also why brands welcome such consumer feedback to strengthen their popularity and appeal with their consumer base," said Srivastava.

She added that while this is not always fair or based on facts, it is the risk that one takes when you build your brand reputation solely on social media. She said:

There are clear gaps in checks and balances on what content is published and by whom on such platforms.

However, she added that only brands who have something to hide have to be worried. 

In the case of Xavian and Pack, multiple customer accounts have surfaced since the initial video of abuse went viral. These customer accounts echo similar abuse and mistreatment of dogs. "This compels people to make their own judgement on what they perceive. The truth is that real proof is undeniable," she said. 

Creating a solid foundation

The best way to counter the effects of selective framing and attacks on a brand's reputation is to first have a solid foundation of good work, good products, customer service and honesty. According to Srivastava, these are essential to ensure a strong reputational foundation of trust and credibility.

"This goes a long way in mitigating reputation issues or crises when they occur, and even avoiding such instances in the first place," she said, adding:

Brand reputation and trust boils down to being honest and trustworthy in what they do and how they behave.

PR practitioners also need to ensure that the brands they manage do not stray from what they stand for.

Xavian and Pack is a clear example of this, said Srivastava.

"It is a company that is trusted by its customers to take care of their dogs. So logically, do that and do not abuse the dogs. It is not rocket science," she said.

Adding on to her point, Pamela Tor Das, vice president of Singapore and emerging markets at TEAM LEWIS explained that citizen jounalism is not new and that it has only been propelled by how easy it is for individuals to get access to both technology and amplification channels.

It’s a reminder to brands that anyone can bring a discussion into the public space.

She added that as a result, customer engagement and overall brand experience is more important than ever. 

To recover from negative brand sentiments, there is need to be swift in responding, expressing transparency, responsibility and action such as implementing change, she said. 

Highlighting the specific situation faced by Mar's company, Das said that while while the organisation was quick to respond and took action with the affected employees, it perhaps did not address some of the concerns or questions the public may have in mind.

She added that it was a missed opportunity to communicate the screening or training processes it has in place for employees as well as the actions it is taking to ensure employees are well-equipped for the job they do.

True enough, the public was unsatisfied by the Mar's apology. According to Koh, netizens were disappointed with the founder’s response to the circulated videos, claiming that he was unsympathetic towards the dogs, and that he only cared about the reputation of his business.

"It’s easy for brand sentiments to turn negative overnight but recovery to positivity will take time. The swifter the action in the right direction, the sooner this can take place," advised Das. 

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