November 23, 2010
Nobody likes a liar. And most people can see right through one. When companies mislead or intentionally deceive the public, the integrity of the organization is compromised immediately. And dishonesty has a habit of seeping into everything—advertisements, sales, employee relationships … straight into reputation.
There’s a lot of talk about transparency right now. Gas companies, car companies, financial institutions … they’ve all taken a hit, perhaps paying much greater consequences then they would have had they simply told the truth in the first place. So this begs the question, should we all just start being honest? Like really honest? Like now? The reality is, soon transparency won’t even be an option. Google and sites like Pipl now give us instant access to personal and company information, and news spreads like wildfire through Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites.
As a social media strategist, I get to study how brands are approaching this new imposed morality. In my opinion, social media is all about transparency, and when companies take actions in order to conceal something on social media, their efforts will fail. But when a company is truthful with consumers, when it exposes itself to criticism and willingly allows for organic conversations to develop, amazing things happen. The company usually becomes authentic in the public’s eyes, and it is embraced.
Here are four brands leading the way towards widespread authenticity:
Zappos
In my opinion, the brand that best understands how integrity leads to overall success is Zappos. Not only does the company pay 100% of its employees’ medical and dental benefits, it also pays them to quit. That’s right, I said to quit. During week two of an intense month long training program, employees are offered three thousand dollars to leave, should they feel they are not a fit for the company culture. Passion is infectious and if that passion exists thoroughly within company headquarters, it will inevitably spread to consumers.
And passionate are the Zappos customers. The company’s CEO hosts a Twitter page with over 1,750,000 followers. Zappos also engages fans through Facebook, with over 77,000 likes.
Check out the 2008 spot about the company from Nightline. Honestly, I choked up a bit watching this video, especially when the CEO says, “I think it’s just really important for people to feel engaged. They always need to feel like they’re learning and growing.” Here is a prime example of insightful leadership paving the way to success.
Kotex-U
Kotex asks the question, “Why are tampon ads so ridiculous?” Veering far away from the old model of sunshine, rainbows, and smile periods, Kotex boldly decided to cut the crap about the category. It launched a series of commercials and ads that spoke candidly about periods and apologized for its past campaigns, many of which had been full of hyperbole and misinformation. Kotex encouraged and sparked conversations among young women, acquiring 8% market share in six weeks.
Domino’s Pizza
This year Domino’s Pizza flat out told the public that its pizza sucked—a bold, and yet completely strategic move considering the company was already taking action to make its product better. First came the ads admitting the poor taste of the pizza, highlighting actual consumer quotes: “The sauce tastes like ketchup,” and “Where’s the love? It doesn’t feel like there’s much love in Domino’s Pizza,“ and my favorite, “ Worst excuse for pizza I’ve ever had.” The ad culminates with Domino’s promise to make a better pizza by completely changing the crust, sauce, and cheese.
Domino’s launched a micro site that includes live tweeter feeds with consumer comments—good or bad—and created videos of the head chef showing up at the doorsteps of the harshest critics.
In order to provide an objective opinion, my office ordered pizza from Domino’s today. Just like the Twitter feed, Domino’s new recipe met mixed reviews. Personally, I really enjoyed it. One of my co-workers exclaimed, “That pizza made me feel better about life.” Yet, another co-worker thought the old crust was better. Either way, our impromptu taste test got us talking about the brand and permanently added the Domino’s menu to our takeout folder.
Conan O’Brien
Celebrities are brands too, and Conan O’Brien is forthright. The much loved talk show host is a huge proponent of social media and makes his presence known on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, You Tube, Flickr, Four Square, and MySpace. In 2010, Time magazine named Conan one of the 100 most influential people in the world as voted on by readers. It seems fans will be “with Coco” for many years to come.
People appreciate honesty, and social media is a fast and easy way to be open. I’m a firm believer that brands are just like people. Much of what makes a human being real must also exist within a brand in order for that brand to emotionally connect with the public. Like humans, brands are not perfect. Brands, and the companies that own them, make mistakes. But it’s a brand’s admittance of those mistakes, and a willingness to fix problems, that strikes a chord with people and is remembered and ultimately rewarded through acceptance and brand loyalty.
Originally published via DigiDay
Posted by Brooke Rothman in Advertising Tags: conan o'brien, DigiDay, domino's, kotex, social media, transparency, zappos
Despair by Edvard Munch
