Ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away. Critics of the power of social media might eat their words if today's events regarding Claire's Accessories are anything to go by. The high street retailer has come under fire after apparently copying several designs from popular indie jewellery label, Tatty Devine, who then posted a blog about it and shared it on Twitter...

After posting a link to this blog on their Twitter feed, urging Claire's to withdraw the products from their stores, the label instigated a huge backlash against the high street store. A backlash so big that 'Claire's Accessories' is now trending on Twitter, and the Tatty Devine website is down because it can't cope with the increased traffic that the blog has created.

After forming in 1999 Tatty Devine have created a cult following of fashionistas across the UK by designing, making and selling quirky, off-beat jewellery and teaming it with a light hearted brand that has a real sense of fun. The team at Tatty however began to notice the startling similarities between their designs and several new products making an appearance at Claire's Accessories outlets across the country over that past few months - see for yourself http://www.handbag.com/fashion/shopping/claires-accessories-tatty-devine-copy-230212

Claire's Accessories have so far made no comment about what's happened. In fact they've completed ignored all tweets, emails and articles posted about it - which is surprising as it usually has an active presence on social media.

Dealing with a problem like this is in itself a struggle for a PR team, but ignoring it altogether will surely create a veritable nightmare that could cause lasting damage to the reputation of the popular brand. It's a far from ideal situation for the store, in what are testing times for the high street full stop.

However, if they had a crisis management procedure in place this negative attention might've been avoided, or at least reduced or contained.

A good PR team can strategise and provide actions and outcomes for every eventually, it's shocking that such a high profile company wouldn't have a standard response for customers while they established a more thorough and tailored approach to dealing with this, or indeed any, problem.

It could be that the marketing team at Claire's are deciding what the best course of action to take is - but in the meantime the brand is being damaged. The nature of a social network is that people share the story with their friends, and as this is happening the 'Claire's' brand sustains more and more damage.

As we say at Silver Bullet Marketing, PR isn't just about press releases! It concerns reputation - to ensure you and your products or services are seen in the most positive light by present and potential customers and clients. It's also about communications - internal and external, offline and online.

Do you have a plan of action for that worst case scenario? If not protect your reputation and talk to us.