New Delhi: Ola received criticism on social media after its poor marketing strategy. The Bangalore-based cab aggregator company decided to share a notification that read, “8 missed calls from mom” to their several loyal customers. However, the notification was not gladly accepted by them. The notification read, “8 missed calls from mom” followed by “she wanted to tell you that there’s 40% off on fruits and veggies at Ola Dash. She also wants you to stop eating bahar ka khana so much.” The customers did not appreciate the marketing strategy and backlashed them calling it a “terrible clickbait.” Besides, the customers pointed out various aspects of the promo such as panic-mongering and also insensitive to those who may have lost their mothers or happen to live away from home. Netizens took to the micro-blogging site to express their views that Ola’s notification did not cause anything other than anxiety. One of the users commented, “8 missed calls from mom? #ola Please stop your annoying notification stunts. There is literally no option to stop these notifications. There are some basic marketing ethics, go read up on that. @olacabs.” 8 missed calls from mom? #ola Please stop your annoying notification stunts. There is literally no option to stop these notifications. There are some basic marketing ethics, go read up on that. @Olacabs — Kaustubh Bagalkote (@BKaustubh_) March 11, 2022 Here are some of the reactions by the netizens: '8 missed calls from mom', followed by a 40% off promo! This is a terrible clickbait by Ola. Pic via @kartik679 on LinkedIn. pic.twitter.com/QBzIF86510 — Karthik ?? (@beastoftraal) March 10, 2022 @Olacabs stop this cheap marketing! My mom is no more ! Worst clickbait ever by Ola! Plays on our psyche especially when we are in the middle of work. I went ahead and uninstalled the Ola app. No more messages! #ola @Ola_Mumbai #marketingtips pic.twitter.com/15kldpKpsA — The NOMAD Doctor (@Medical_Nomad_) March 10, 2022 @Olacabs this messaging really sucks just like your service. What if something serious really happens to my mom and then I get this message? And when in an emergency I need you the most, you ask for "cash or online". #ola #uber pic.twitter.com/hbbLZFxDFg — Manab Boruah (@ManabBoruah) March 9, 2022 Hey @Olacabs, using catchy lines as clickbait is fine. But I wonder how people would really feel if they had 8 missed calls from their mom then to find out it’s a promo from OLA. I would assume most would “Panic”. I felt sad though, I lost my mom over a year ago. pic.twitter.com/q6vxXrsjYE — Vijay Subramanian (@VijaySubramanic) March 10, 2022 @Olacabs what's wrong with you?? Who came up with such a marketing disaster? How insensitive it is. Especially when ppl like me have been waiting for a call from mom since ages and knows it won't happen in our lifetimes. You're Pathetic. #OLA pic.twitter.com/xHx2MNNS5Y — Nishant Joel (@nishant_joel) March 12, 2022 This incident comes after e-commerce company, Flipkart landed in trouble for their Women’s Day campaign. On International Women’s Day, Flipkart sent out a message promoting kitchen appliances which many people slammed on social media.
