Thanks to Jerome at Coglode, I discovered the name for my natural response to the Christmas online retail experience – reactance. This happens when something or one appears to try and force us to make a choice, triggering an angry reaction or rebellion. In advertising it happens in two scenarios:
- Bad ads – such as those that interrupt your online experience entirely, or hide the fact that they are ads at all
- Unethical behavioural interventions – designed to encourage you to make an impulsive or pressured purchase
In both cases the aim is to act in the interest of the company selling the product, but not yourself.
Over Christmas you would have also experienced this bad side – the ‘sludge’ instead of the nudge: being chased around the internet by products you have already bought, by trips you have already booked and products you looked at once or twice and then thought ‘No I’m good thanks’. The sites that scare you into panic buying or take advantage of your forgetfulness.
In the first example, Google has made strides in the past year, by cleaning Adwords of bad ads; the Competitor and Markets Authority has carried out an investigation into questionable functionality on hotel booking and price comparison websites – some of which may count as ‘pressure selling’.
A selection of factors point to a bigger picture; whether it’s a growth in ad blocking across devices, a decline in trust in social ads, or multinational brands cutting their digital budgets, people are increasingly becoming more demonstrative in getting ads out of their way; as brands (and their guardians) begin to find new avenues to be more effective.
Tribal advertising and creating ‘reactance on purpose’ – a new effectiveness frontier?
As our politics as a society become more tribal, fragmented and atavistic – we’re seeing brands experimenting by triggering reactance, seemingly on purpose in a bid to become more effective. Gillette is the latest brand to do this: by leaning in on a ‘hot button’ issue that divides certain groups into factions, the brand appeared to put a stake into the ground, deliberately alienating some men, and therefore attracting others (and also women, some of whom may be buying the brand as well).
From a consumer perception standpoint, the gamble may have backfired; although it is too early to say about its impact on overall sales. In a climate that can be cynical about latecomers to brand purpose, people were quick to question Gillette’s right to join in the #MeToo debate – even if they admired the overall intent of the brand. There is the possibility however, that this apparent dip might be short lived, as evidenced by another brand that bet on an equally divisive topic and won: Nike.
Nike found that their support of Colin Kaepernick worked, boosting sales by 31% despite a huge backlash by US citizens that were opposed to NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. This could have worked for Nike’s bottom line because the brand had a longer heritage in being a standard bearer for racial equality and inclusion. So when Nike put its stake in the ground, its supporters rallied around the brand, even though detractors made public gestures to reject it.
Is the influencer path narrowing?
Another common exit path out of the interruption advertising game – influencer content – is getting narrower. Following reports of influencer fraud, it’s emerging that consumers are repelled by pushy influencers’ content as well. Common complaints are that they are repetitive, there is too much shoehorning in of brand messages, and the influencer gives the impression that they would sell anything.
One area I’m getting very excited about is the emergence of a new kind of influencer – the professional adviser. Sharmadean Read was the first one to call it with an insightful article on beauty pros when soft-launching Beautystack last year, and we’re seeing the emergence of this in wellness too: out go the non-qualified chancers in yoga pants who tell you that carrots will cure you of cancer; in come doctors with rigorous empirical evidence backing up their statements on what will help you stay well.
Cynicism is good
Ultimately, this is what happens as we – collectively as consumers and citizens – start to mature in our understanding of the digital world; more is expected of brands in terms of how they engage with people, how they craft their messages and who they nominate to speak on their behalf. People are expecting truthfulness and respect. This is good for brand owners, good for strategy and good for society.