In 2013, blogger Van Hari and her loyal food community embarked on an all-out war with the company on social, holding Kraft’s Facebook page hostage with the goal of “undermining the organization’s legitimacy and tarnishing its reputation.”

[A huge takeaway was how Hari branded this issue as bipartisan, as she took her narrative to both CNN and FoxNews, representing both sides of the political spectrum, respectively. This in turn, would cater to a broader audience, bolstering legitimacy.]

As the dust settled from this exchange, the nail in the coffin was a hoax video that Hari and her followers evolved into a viral message, infiltrating and near-suffocating the company’s reputation. As the video spread like wildfire, the overall message “legitimized Hari’s claims and undermined the legitimacy of Kraft.”

As DePaul University’s Kathy Fitzpatrick explains “failure to disclose breeds suspicion.” In order to rebuild relationships with these activists, brands like Kraft must embark on strategies geared toward personal communication and dialogue.

Like bullies on a school playground, and as Hari mentioned herself, “the more you ignore them, the louder they get.” When engaging with social media activists, messaging must be met at the individual level, with the intent of hearing the respective party’s point of view.