Chinese developer finds marketing opportunity in flood disaster
When a natural disaster strikes, it would not be within the realm of American business culture to exploit the event by using it as a marketing tool. For example, last week in Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province, experienced unprecedented flooding. The city, with a population of 10.2 million, was shut down as floods claimed over 60 lives.
On Monday, as subway commuters were trapped in water up to their necks, a real estate development company thought it would be a good idea to advertise their high-rise condominiums.
The word “Highland” was meant to attract the attention of potential homebuyers who would be interested in living somewhere that wouldn’t be affected by future floods or thunderstorms.
The English translation of the Chinese tagline reads, “Highland properties, storms will turn into scenery.” The company was promoting the joys of watching a natural disaster unfold from the comfort of a living room. Keep in mind that a human, not an algorithm, thought this ad would help sell condo units.
The advertisement was released Tuesday night after two days of heavy rainfall had damaged almost 25,000 homes and displaced roughly 850,000 people. Uproar on Chinese social media was widespread as people said the ad displayed a lack of sympathy for the victims.
By Wednesday morning, the company had removed the ad, issued an apology, and said people would be fired and salaries reduced.
Who does this?
#China #Zhengzhou #Flood
