Marketing and all things related

Its very unfortunate for this young lady, it just speaks
to the criminality that exists today. To use a perfectly
wonderful, community centered internet site to hurt someone is an atrocity. It also makes it hard on us who
wouldn't think to hurt anyone. Craigslist has done everything to speak out and be counted upon to help others. Now we need to scrutinize everything and everyone.

I feel bad for that woman and her family, but to hold Craigslist responsible in any way seems rediculous. The man could have posted an ad in the newspaper and acted the same way. Should we ban newspaper advertisements as well? What exactly would the author of this article have Craigslist do?

Anonymous,

As this is a blog about marketing, I did not suggest that Craiglsist is responsible for the murder, but I do purport that Craigslist has a social and brand responsibility to communicate a brand image and message consistent with the product it offers. Clearly, there are security issues related to Craigslist as there would be with any similar online (or offline) anonymous sales site where people are required to meet face-to-face to complete a transaction.

From a marketing and branding perspective, I would suggest that Craigslist launch a branding push to regenerate peace-of-mind related to the use of their site. If they want to be seen as a channel leader, then I suggest that they raise the bar of awareness by implementing social awareness campaigns to ensure users are well educated and informed about online sales such as those offered on Craigslist. Many parts of this branding campaign would fall within the "good will" category of the balance sheet, so it would not only give the brand a boost but also help the online community.

Those are just a couple ideas off the top of my head that I think would help Craigslist from a marketing perspective. Again, since this is a marketing blog, I invite readers to provide their insight and ideas for other ways Craigslist can maintain or repair their brand after such a horrible incident related to their brand occured.

I do believe Craigslist should be held somewhat accountable for this horrible incident. I have also been subjected to a Craigslist horror story, as someone sent me a fraudulant check, which i deposited and then was held liable for after i sent money western union to someone i trusted on good faith and craigslist popularity. Needless to say, that was an idiot move on my part after the fact, but I feel like Craigslist needs to up their security and interact more with people using this site.