United, Pepsi consumer outrage forces brands to respect social media

New York

WHEN Jason Marker, the new chief executive of the company that owns Carl's Jr and Hardee's, met several of his marketing executives last week, one of his first requests was for screens to be installed in the company's headquarters to display real-time social media conversations about its brands.

It is the sort of set-up that exists at the advertising agencies representing Mr Marker's company, CKE Restaurants, and that the company has built internally for events like the Super Bowl, said Brandon LaChance, director of advertising and digital marketing for the chains, who was at the meeting. But now, he added, that information will be available daily to the whole company, which is based in Franklin, Tennessee.