Molehills into Mountains: How Razer Left a Crisis to Grow

(Feature image created by freepik.com)

By Jackson Allen

In the modern communications landscape, social media is invaluable. Social media platforms drive business for companies, and they’re also a way for companies to establish a two-way communication between their audience. If done carefully, this relationship builds trust and loyalty to the brand. But what happens when companies miss the mark?

In August, gaming peripheral company Razer released a TikTok showing a man playing a game, and a woman speaking to him about an issue she’s having. The man’s response? Activating the noise-cancellation feature of his gaming headset. The on-video text reads “Active Noise Cancellation: on, Drama: off” with the caption reading “Don’t let yapping get in the way of winning.”

Understandably, this did not go over well with their audience. Critical comments about the post flooded in, with many women (and men) voicing their frustrations with its dated tropes and misogynistic tone. While this TikTok flew under the radar for nearly two months, frustrations simmered. Recently, news outlet PC Gamer published an article criticizing the post, after hearing about it in the comment section of an unrelated Razer video. Since that article’s publication, counter-commenters have arrived, mocking the original complaints. Razer has yet to take down the video and hasn’t even acknowledged the controversy.

Keep in mind that this company actively markets towards women, featuring women in their advertising. In fact, the same woman in the controversial TikTok can be seen showcasing a headset for the company on Instagram. How can a company advertise to women, and then denigrate them at the same time?

Simply put, Razer has failed their customer base by posting this TikTok. A video like this should have never passed internal review. A simple change — the ‘distraction’ being parents, an outside noise, roommate, etc. — would have removed any possibility of offending anyone. Even if Razer personally didn’t think it was an issue, they should be considering how their audience could react to it.

No company is going to be perfect — sometimes they miss the mark. What matters is how that company fixes the problems that they create. Razer either failed to monitor the post, or simply ignored any complaints. Without monitoring, the video was able to spread and negative sentiment festered. Razer has unintentionally allowed a single post to spiral into a discussion that ties their brand to issues of sexism, culture war, and even attracted the “anti-woke” crowd. None of this helps Razer build brand reputation or showcase their values. 

Single issues rarely sink a company, but they can drive a small wedge between a company and their audience. If goodwill has been eroded in the past and audiences feel like they aren’t being valued, Razer may have a much harder time with future problems that they face.

Anywhere along this path, Razer could have put an end to this by simply noticing this problem, acknowledging it, and acting in the interests of their community. Being reactive, responsive and accountable to their audience would benefit them in the long run, and could have prevented a single bad post from becoming a controversy.