Advertising has always been a fast-moving and quickly-evolving industry. However, in the past decade – with the rising dominance of social media – the pace of change has increased significantly. These changes present new opportunities – often allowing new brands to create close relationships with customers and supplant traditional brands. However, this rapidly changing environment also opens up the opportunities for costly missteps – as I think we are seeing with Deciem.
Consumers today are so savvy that they quickly see behind messages and campaigns that are inauthentic. It was only a couple years ago when the path to sure success was to get an ‘influencer’ to post a photo with your product. Now that seems so passé and tacky. Customers quickly saw these influencer campaigns for what they are: paid product placements.
Now we find ourselves at a time when consumers want to speak directly with a brand. Not a spokesperson or PR agency. In fact, consumers feel like they have the right to have conversations with their brands. We have seen companies respond to this – in part by having the founders and/or CEOs speak directly to their customers through social media – especially Instagram. When done well, this creates a powerful connection – where customers feel like the CEO is speaking directly with them.
With this great opportunity to foster deep relationships with customers also comes great risk. In the case of Deciem, the founder and co-CEO, Brandon Truaxe, started a new approach where he would speak openly, honestly and directly with his customers through Instagram. Initially there appeared to be a huge and positive reaction to this honestly. Unfortunately, this did not last long. Mr. Truaxe started speaking completely off-script – even seeming to make important strategic decisions through his Instagram posts. The end result appears to be alienated customers and an organization that seems to be in disarray.
Ultimately, direct and seemingly open communication with customers can be a very powerful tool – but it must still be backed up by a comprehensive marketing and communication strategy. The messages, however spontaneous they may seem, must still align with the brand values, messages and voice. This balance – between open communication and strict adherence to the brand values – is difficult to achieve and I think that we will see companies meet it with varying degrees of success.
Source: https://fashionista.com/2018/02/deciem-the-ordinary-skincare-instagram-ceo-drama
No comments:
Post a Comment