If you had a company and you were looking to promote one of your products, would you be able to use all the comments and reviews found online?
Dove dared to try with its Intensive Repair Serum Mask.
The brand decided to take one of the most honest and less controllable spaces on the Internet, Reddit, to build its campaign. The brand dared to let customers speak freely, without filters, without editing, and without trying to steer the conversation.
The strategy breaks with the traditional logic of marketing, where only the best results and good comments are shown.
Negative comments were not hidden, from those saying that “it is not ideal for oily scalps because it leaves hair feeling heavy from the first day,” to others saying that “it does not cause hair loss, but being honest, it is basically a denser conditioner with good packaging.”
Instead of hiding them, the brand amplified them. And there is the most interesting point; the contradiction does not weaken consumer confidence in product, it makes it more credible.
It is a risky proposal, but a strategic one.
By exposing real opinions, good and bad, something more powerful than perfect advertising is activated: conversation. When the masses give their opinions, compare experiences and questions, the product ceases to be a brand message. And in an environment where trust is scarce, allowing others to speak, even critically, may be just what drives curiosity, testing… and eventually, sales.
Sources:
Reddit (search term: “dove hair mask”)