For the love of the Instagram gods, can you please keep it real
HooZu’s Nathan Ruff breaks down exactly what went wrong with influencer Andrew Pap’s sponsored engagement announcement, after it received a torrent of negativity online.
Like the majority of my contemporaries in the advertising sphere, I’ve not been able to escape the Insta image of Renae Ayris getting proposed to over a cuppa joe from her loving fiancé Andrew Papadopoulos.
Like you, my heart melted at the two perfectly formed beauties in bed, who seemed to wake up without a hair follicle out of place, or the dry drool crust that I suffer from.
There’s a gleam of anticipation in their eyes at tackling the day together, utter content, happiness and affection flowing from perfectly formed biceps and tanned bodies, not to mention the glancing look of appreciation and thanks to the gods of love for finding each other.
Andrew nervously jostles with the realisation there is only one more thing to do, he has to ask the question that will bind their love forever. He finds the strength, gets down on one knee and says… can I get you a cup of Nescafé?
Ok, I may have taken some extreme satirical liberties as I’m not actually sure what came first, the coffee, marriage proposal, or scheduled reflection time on the engagement (maybe we can ask the photographer on the end of their bed), which raises other questions.
But the real question is why would anyone use such a ‘memorable life moment’ and tie it in with a sponsored coffee post? Are the lines now becoming too blurred? What is next? Will we be in the birthing suite promoting a paper towel brand?
BREAKING: Nescafe Really Nails It With Totally Believable Instagram Post By “Influencer” Andrew Pap pic.twitter.com/3Fyv5DkLqr
— ADWEAK (@adweak) 11 July 2018
I’m at the point where I actively choose to not purchase from companies that use “influencers” to peddle goods.
— Deborah Clague (@debclague) 11 July 2018
Who among us doesn’t have a photographer in their bedroom?
— Jill Golden (@_goldengrams) 11 July 2018
In defence of Renae and Andrew (neither I nor Hoozu have any association or involvement with the campaign), they probably believed the glossy and touching moment of their lives was a good opportunity to share.
A lot of their audiences and followers, who engage with the pair every day, enjoy the content they create and would feel honoured to be included and privy to such an intimate moment.
However, to deliver this ‘special moment’ as a sponsored post screams of tackiness and misjudgment and it’s not surprising the couple received so many negative comments in response. It should never have been put forward by their agency and the post deserves the criticism it has received.
When done right, influencer produced content can be remarkably powerful, relatable, moving and educational. The integration opportunities for brands is hugely valuable, but it needs to be done with proper planning and strategy. The power of influencer generated content is that it resonates as being true; it should be as real as possible to the brand that is paying you, and the audience that is following you.
Done badly, it can be extremely damaging for brand and influencer alike. Having created and tracked thousands of pieces of social content we can attest that real people dealing with real issues (like getting kids in cars, running late for everything, getting two hours sleep and waking up with blotchy skin, hiding stretch marks, feeling fat etc); perform far better than repurposed branded billboard imagery.
When audiences see influencers with flashy lives facing the same issues they face i.e. hiding love handles and not being able to keep their kids clean, they respond positively, in turn reaping a positive affiliation for associated brands.
Social audiences are not stupid, and should never be regarded as. The art of producing strong content lies equally across discovery and creation – if one is off the end result will be off too.
For any brand it is critical you use advocates that would use the product, are relatable, and who have legitimate audiences that match the desired customer base. Content has to appear as true to the influencer as the audience that is watching.
Ultimately, the backlash to Andrew’s post has reinforced the need to balance being on message for brands, staying authentic to audiences, and tapping into timely events. Some advocates are better at this balance than others, but ultimately it’s the role of the content agency to guide them and protect them from such faux pas.
A good reputation can take decades to build and a moment to damage, so brands and influencers should tap into the data and AI insights which can guarantee success for both parties. In any case, when embarking on influencer content please make sure it reflects the advocates personality, is an authentic brand/product match, and that the content itself oozes reality.
Oh, and don’t include sponsored posts on special life announcements, unless you’re promoting an engagement ring.
Nathan Ruff is CEO of HooZu.
Great article and perspective from someone so close to the channel. Nice one Ruffy.
Good article and spot on.
Just can’t help wondering though (or at least musing on the irony) – how ‘real’ can any ‘campaign’ be when it is back up by ‘agency’ and ‘data tapping’ and ‘AI insights’?
Such cringey marketing!
Way to devalue your personal life for a product that is universally associated with ‘morning smoko’, bad breath and office cheapskates.
All good points Nathan. The other point I’d like to add is that Instagram is literally flooded with images of beautiful people, fit bodies, stunning views, amazing homes, stylish clothes and great (often healthy) food. I question Nescafe’s relevance in this channel. I don’t (want to) know anyone who drinks instant coffee 🙂
Maybe it’s the Melburnian in me.
The guy is reflecting on his engagement over a coffee in bed? What’s the big deal? I’ve seen much worse…
I agree, the post is a little (very) cheesy and OTT, but is similar to the rest of Andrew’s uplifting and positive style of content.
However having seen this influencer’s statistics and back end data reports, his audience is real and therefore at least Nescafe is engaging with real Australians, which is more than can be said for so many Aussie influencers with fake following following and fake engagements who are still being offered paid gigs.
Love it. Absolute 0/10 for relevance. The sheer arrogance of trying to peddle instant coffee as a prestigious, insta-worthy or celebratory product is mind boggling. Kudos to the team for giving it a crack though, we can all learn from this.
I have only read the first couple of paragraphs of this article, and see one HUGE UNTRUTH! Let me correct you. This was NOT an insta post actually done during the proposal! It has been twisted to look like that, as noone has actually read the post correctly. He used the word engagement and everyone has got on their high horse. They were engaged 3 weeks before! The post would have been booked in before they even got engaged….. Fact is, instagram influencers are the way of the modern advertising world! If he had not mentioned “engagement” this would never have been attacked! I’m sure he is regretting it, but articles like this, basing themselves on untruths certainly don’t help!
Are they on a boat?
Great insights, Nathan. Additionally, does the hashtag #collab satisfy the Australian regulators? I doubt it would keep the FTC in the US or ASA in UK content?
Pretty sure we all just misread the meaning of “engagement” among all the vapidity.
Maybe they were celebrating all their monetised engagement, having realised in a moment of sober reflection that their particular brand of banal exhibitionism was in fact all a concocted, meaningless sham, and that douche-casting live evidence of their pathological vanity would eventually run out of steam.
Make hay while the sun shines.
Thanks Brian,
the brand advocates bring the “realness”
the agency guides it being “on brand” with out losing the realness
the data is used as insurance to ensure it will work with the audience
Anon, good points.
Hoozu vets its influencer audiences and every recommendations we put froward has their audience audited, we have a 15 step process and various proprietary platforms we use that will eliminate any suspicious behavior.
This is not as big a deal as everyone is bemoaning , and there are plenty of ways to confirm and restrict influencers partaking in fake and fraudulent engagements.
Joanne, we had a bet going in the office that someone would not construe the opening paragraphs as sarcasm, Congrats
We are fully aware that instagram influencers play very important role in the marketing sphere, which if you read past the 3rd paragraph clearly states.
Like all forms of marketing , mistakes will be made and often criticised and as a collective marketing community , makes us all better.
what *are* you saying?
Maybe you should do your research properly as that wasn’t his proposal!! His proposal was private and intimate with no one else around and it was done in Sydney weeks before that photo. Fuck- why do people feel the need to bring people down during what’s supposed to be such a joyous and happy time. Get a life
It’s the Italian in me who doesn’t drink instant coffee!
I’d love to see a guest post from you guys, naming and shaming those with fake followings, don’t use #collab/#ad and the brands that work with them.
If you are going to bring influencers down… bring the influencers and brands down who are actually ruining this industry rather than someone who made a slightly cheesy post about celebrating their engagement…
Nobody ever said it was his actual proposal – have a cry over your mates, Domino!
Its very evident that he is willing to monetise anything in his life, though, even something personal.
In the immortal words of Barbie (above):
“their particular brand of banal exhibitionism was in fact all a concocted, meaningless sham, and that douche-casting live evidence of their pathological vanity would eventually run out of steam”