In today’s digital market, we can make everything go around through social media in a much faster and more effective way, and no need to design a well-organized poster, or costly advertisement on TV or radio to spread products, services or thoughts. Usually companies prefer to use celebrities because they have more followers on social media and will reach out to customers more easily, like promoting a product when the superstar use it, promoting a movie after they watch it, etc..
There’s another way to advertise something, which invites ordinary individual to participate and share. Dove is doing a good job. They invite, say, a group of ordinary women (if different age, jobs, etc.) to show their definition or attitude towards beauty or themselves. It’s more than a soap advertisement, to simply promote a product. It’s spreading some positive attitude towards beauty to women, about how to make themselves more confident and beautiful in a healthier and more natural way, using Dove as their basic daily necessity. Although it’s using the most traditional way, shooting a commercial or something, but it posts the video on YouTube and sets some hashtag on FB or twitter and encourage people to share their own story.
It’s all about sharing and connection. Dove is making an emotional connection between the brand and the product, also among the customers to share their own experience.
There’re two parts I like about the sharing. First, as a customer I will not focus on the soap itself (how good the quality is, how much it is or something), but the message the video wants to convey as natural beauty or being confident as a female. It’s like that the brand cares for their customers and support especially female customers, not only focusing on the revenue of the company. It’s also a sign that the company is a responsible one for the society. Second, after watching the evocative video people would share story with the brand through social media, which will help the band to collect information about the market, predicting the sales and planning for the next campaign.
(Four Generations, one of Dove’s beauty story)
But is this sharing free of risk? Will it apply to all brand in all industry? I will say no. Sharing does not always mean good comments. There can be some problem which people will have bad experience using some product, and once bad comments arise, people would focus on the quality of the product, because, not like other advertisement introducing the new technology applied in the product, this kinds of advertisement only show people the most surface part of the product, so people will question the credibility of the company and will less like buy the product anymore. If it comes to the food industry, such things will be tougher for the company. So is it worthwhile to take the risk of sharing?
Encouraging everyone to involve in the products has the effect that tradional way will never reach, especially connecting people. However it’s an opportunity as well as challenge for every brand. How to build up the connection with customers on social networks, how to make the sharing more natural, and in the meanwhile promote the product and sales, these marketing parts really need a second thought.
I like your example of the ‘Dove’ brand and I agree with you that the ‘sharing business’ isn’t without risk. Yes, it’s true that Dove’s emphasis on natural beauty for women of all body types and ethnicity is good for sales and perhaps sale prediction of their body care products through the (online) sharing of this positive message they convey to women. With this, Dove created a great position for itself as it is one of very few brands who positions itself this way. Making women want to buy Dove because of this message and less because of the product (which is good quality by the way).
I was one of those women when Dove launched this campaign some years ago, sharing this positive message with girlfriends on and offline and favouring Dove when shopping for body care products.
But then I found out that Dove is produced by Unilever which also produces Axe body care for men. Axe emphasises female, Caucasian beauty for (very ordinary) men. This made me realise that the Dove natural beauty message was just an ordinary (but very clever) marketing strategy and I started to share this with my friends, who started to share their disappointment with their friends.
Thus, sharing can be harmful; not only in product quality but also in product message. Still, the message is a very nice one, I just don’t believe it anymore when such different massages are created by the same army of Unilever marketers. Even though, I would love for someone to prove me wrong!