United and Pepsi affairs force brands to respect social media

Crises that play out on social media are increasingly being viewed as threats to a company's profits

When Jason Marker, the new chief executive of the company that owns Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s, met with several of his marketing executives this 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 setup that already exists at the advertising agencies representing Marker’s company, CKE Restaurants, and that the company has built internally for events like the Super Bowl, said Brandon LaChance, the director of advertising and digital marketing for the chains, who was at the meeting. But now, he