Brands are increasingly leveraging viral controversies to realign values, boost relevance, and strengthen reputation through timely, strategic messaging.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Chairman S. N. Subrahmanyan’s advocating a 90- hour workweek, including Sundays, did not just ignite a social media storm; it also fired up leaders and brands to capitalise on the momentum to gain eyeballs and some free press!
The speed at which memes, hashtags, and online discussions erupted showed that scrutiny on corporate statements is instant these days, and public discourse now holds leaders accountable. Brands and other leaders who jumped on this meme fest were able to gather enough free publicity of their own.
Actor Deepika Padukone, labelling the statement as “shocking”, furthered her own cause of advocating the importance of mental health with #MentalHealthMatters. Harsh Goenka, RPG Group Chairman, made his firm stance that work-life balance is essential, not optional, by taking humorous digs such as, “Why not rename Sunday to ‘Sun-duty’ and make ‘day off’ a mythical concept!” Similarly, Anand Mahindra, Mahindra Group Chairman, humorously stated, “My wife is wonderful. I love staring at her.” He solidified his already good leadership reputation by emphasising that one should focus on the quality of work rather than the quantity of hours.
As #MentalHealthMatters, #WorkLifeBalance, #SundayIsForRest, and #StareAtYourWife trended, smart and agile brands responded as expected. Amul had a quirky illustration that humorously addressed the controversy, engaging audiences and reinforcing its brand identity. Durex posted an image featuring a blindfold as the ‘perfect solution’ to Subramanyan’s statement, ‘Staring at your wife is not necessary.’ The post cleverly rebranded L&T as ‘Love & Tease Corporation’.
The viral hashtags and memes generated millions of impressions, and it was opportune for brands to ride this storm.
Riding the sandworm of social media
Social media shapes public discourse. In the contemporary digital landscape, agile brands and public figures can capitalise on such moments of widespread attention. It is now turning into an effective strategy to transform another individual’s or organisation’s controversial or damaging remark into an opportunity to reinforce one’s message, align with stakeholder values, and enhance brand credibility.
In today’s day, when everyone is vying for attention via likes, comments and shares, a well-placed remark on the controversy of the day can pay rich dividends.
In their famous study ‘What’s in a Name?’, Formbrum and Shanley (1990) said that “understanding the informational medium from which publics construct reputations helps explain sources of mobility barriers within industries that originate in external perceptions.”
When a public misstep occurs, those who reframe the issue in alignment with their values and audience expectations can reinforce their credibility. This approach could be termed opportunistic reputation management. Strategic communication in times of public scrutiny can enhance or restore trust by demonstrating corporate or personal values.
Opportunistic reputation management
To leverage another’s damaging remark effectively, brands and individuals employ one or more of the following strategic communication techniques:
- Realignment with core values: One of the most effective ways to capitalise on a controversial remark is to use it as a counterpoint to reinforce an organisation’s or individual’s core values. This approach ensures that the response is authentic and aligned with existing brand messaging. Deepika Padukone reframed the conversation by emphasising the importance of mental well-being. By aligning the controversy with her long-standing advocacy for mental health, she strengthened her credibility and broadened her engagement with her cause.
- Leveraging humour and relatability to engage audiences: Humour is a powerful tool in strategic communication, mainly when used to defuse tension while subtly reinforcing a brand’s positioning. Public figures and organisations that respond with wit and playful critique often garner positive engagement while avoiding outright confrontation. As their response subtly reframed the work-life balance conversation without directly attacking the original statement, both Goenka and Mahindra positioned themselves as progressive employers.
- Amplifying a cause through viral trends: Amul’s creative doodle featured the caption ‘Labour & Toil?’ with an emphasis on the letters ‘L’ and ‘T,’ and referenced the company’s initials. The tagline read, ‘Amul stares at bread daily’, playfully alluding to the chairman’s remark about staring at one’s spouse. Zomato tweeted, “In case you don’t have a wife, feel free to stare at your order arriving on the app”, cheekily promoting their real-time order tracking feature. Durex’s sly response was a playful promotion of their product.
Brands can effectively leverage public controversies by employing creativity to craft messages that resonate with their audience, enhancing engagement and reinforcing brand identity. This approach showcases the brand’s agility in responding to current events and humanises it, making it more relatable to consumers.
Timely and contextually relevant messaging in brand communication is often underestimated. Those who learn, adapt and respond make hay when the controversy sun shines!
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