Vic Taxis fires PR agency after nightmare week

The Victorian Taxi Association has fired the PR agency behind its disastrous #YourTaxis campaign.
Launched just five days ago, the social media campaign aimed to connect with disillusioned customers and curb the growing popularity of ride-sharing app, Uber.
However, the call for customers to “share their taxi stories” using the hashtag #YourTaxis quickly descended into hundreds of stories of law-breaking drivers and alleged verbal and sexual abuse.
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Making things worse for the campaign, an ill-considered Tweet on Wednesday, attempting to connect Victorian Taxis with Remembrance day, backfired, and caused further anger when the YourTaxis account misspelled the word “remembrance” twice.
On Wednesday, Victorian Taxis issued an apology for the Tweet, saying it had been composed by the external PR agency but should have been vetoed internally.
On Friday, a statement posted to the organisation’s website confirmed the agency had been fired within a week of the campaign launch.
“Unfortunately, the #YourTaxis campaign concept and its delivery did not match our intention,” Mr Samuel said.
“We were aware of many of the issues that passengers face but the campaign concept and delivery showed us the true extent of their concerns.
“We take full responsibility for the campaign and will be undertaking a full review of our strategy. As a result we have made the decision to part ways with our agency.”
Mr Samuel said an audit of the issues raised through the campaign was being organised and would be used to “improve taxi services in Victoria”.