The rise of reality ads, a new style of communication created by engaged consumers equipped with smartphone cameras rather than ad agencies with million dollar budgets, forces brand to re-examine the way they market themselves.
Whether this new form of communication relies on hidden cameras, or real consumers voluntarily speaking their mind, it is gradually replacing traditional, slick persuasion with honesty, spontaneity, and authenticity.
Today, we can get any answers we want in a few clicks. But when it comes to brands, the answers we trust are mainly from consumer reviews.
Getting the straight answers from real buyers is a great thing. But are the reviews trustworthy? According to the Harvard Business School study, it is estimated that up to 20 percent of Yelp reviews are fake. However, we cannot say that all fake reviews are intentionally duplicitous. Technically, we all are fakester, have you ever given a classmate or college an overly generous endorsement on LinkedIn, or raved about your author friend’s book on social media after reading just several pages? You probably wouldn’t think of it as reprehensive, even though you’re messing with the honor system.
In summary, the rise of technology and social sharing has created a new phenomenon in the brand world, and twisting the power of honesty and ‘real’ to sell product will create some serious brand reputation carnage.
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