Doesn’t everyone know that a promise is a promise is a promise, even more so when it comes to promotional giveaways?  Apparently Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) forgot that, when they didn’t deliver on a promise of free food, and the person who was left with “chicken feathers” on her face, was poor Oprah Winfrey.

After all, KFC’s online coupon promotion that promised a free two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal was featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and on her Web site.  What followed was mayhem.

According to Reuters, KFC said that millions of Americans had downloaded free coupons after the offer, driving traffic to levels unseen in the brand’s 50-year history, resulting in extreme demand for the free chicken offer nationwide.  KFC could not keep up.  They reneged on the offer.

As such, no more free chicken and lots of disgruntled people.

Clearly KFC was clueless as to the “tsunami’” that would be unleashed (so-called by Advertising Age crisis expert, Robbie Vorhaus) when free food is combined with the power of the Oprah brand. To make matters worst, the promotion was not offered on Mother’s Day, even though it landed smack in the middle of the promotion dates, which left KFC open to ridicule from competitor El Pollo Loco asking what KFC has against Moms.

Look, I understand that KFC cannot ‘give away the store’.  But where were KFC’s strategists when planning this promotion?  Where were the experts that understood that such a promotion needed to have built-in limits in advance?  Have KFC executives ever watched Oprah give stuff away on her show?  What did they think was going to happen? It’s a no-brainer that all promotions need to be planned against potential consequences — replete with possible crisis scenarios and evaluated from all angles.

So now KFC President Roger Eaton had to write a note of apology to all those who flocked to Oprah’s Web site to download their coupons, and were turned away.

Too late.   Such a major dent in customer relations cannot be wiped out by an apology.   What consumers want is what they were promised – free chicken.  What they got, at least for those who were quick enough to download a coupon before the scheme got changed, a rain check coupon.   But the trust is gone as to whether they will ever get free chicken…

KFC should have gotten their ducks – I mean, chickens — in order before they promised.

PR 101: Think, evaluate analyze, prepare — before you promise.

Domino’s nightmare this week was very, very real indeed.  And it didn’t go away the next morning, as most nightmares do.  Far from it.  The damage spiraled without a safety net. The video that circulated on YouTube showing disgusting and filthy antics from a server in preparing a pizza, was so revolting that it could not easily be dismissed simply as corporate mischief or a prank, as the two employees who were responsible for posting the video, claimed.

A story like this is ripe for a flurry of activity on social-media channels and it certainly bounced around on Twitter, expanding exponentially the damage already inflicted on the brand.  It didn’t help that a photo of the server picking his nose also circulated in the mainstream media. (See International Herald Tribune April 16.)

Damage control from Domino’s came two hours after the video was posted – quick enough for offline, but not quick enough for online.  A comment or prank needs to be spotted as it happens — in real time, putting a strain on company personnel but, never-the-less, needed.

Sadly I say, that irretrievable damage was done. The issue is that the video struck a nerve on a low-lying consumer fear — best put by Brian Moressey, on his post on AdFreak saying, “Let’s face it, everyone worries what goes on behind the scenes at fast-food places.”  No real comfort here.

Bruce Horovitz’ article in USA TODAY, reported not only on the incident, but also offered solutions for safeguarding a brand.  The only real safety net is to stay online following consumers and their conversations on major social media channels, staying tuned 24/7 and basically becoming part of the conversation — and react accordingly.

Similarly, just think of a living room conversation that continues as you leave the room for just a few minutes – let’s say to go into the kitchen — and when you return, you can’t quite pick up on the conversation because you missed several critical points.

Still, per the International Herald Tribune on 4/16 “Domino’s gets lesson on Web crisis reaction” the whole incident was a scam.  Scam or not, I anticipate that Domino’s nightmare will have crisis planning gurus everywhere puling their client’s plan off the shelf and adding a few such potential disastrous scenarios to it, with next steps solutions clearly planned out.

Scam or not, I suspect that the incident has left its mark on some consumers who may get the “hibbie-jibbies” about ever eating at Domino’s again.