Jul 27 2021
With power comes responsibility, as the famous quote from the movie Spiderman echoes, there is much that Indian celebrities have to adhere to. With the latest Tweet and Instagram post by legendary cricketer Virat Kohli, praising Lovely Professional University on giving an environment to athletes on its campus, has caught meme attention as soon as the post went public. The post, which glorifies Lovely Professional University’s, has becoming a laughing stock for the common users. Comments and memes have been floating on the internet telling a not so great brand endorsement saga almost the way James Bond starrer Pierce Brosnan had a brand mismatch with Pan Bahar.
Not just that, as per the New ASCI guidelines all influencers and celebrities are bound to disclose any paid collaboration in their posts and the same was missing from the social platforms. May be, Virat just did a one off free, yet he was suppose to disclose some information regarding the post as it consists of brand identity of Lovely Professional University.
What brands should learn from not that so good brand endorsement
1.Celebrities and Influencers are not just content carriers; they are creators who appease to a certain set of audience. There audience surely knows the tonality of their original content and the time brands try snatching that freedom, the result is the same.
2.Celebrities should be mapped to the content and not every piece of content is for every celeb. We have seen in the past how brands commit the same mistake by sharing similar tweets and posts with every influencer and while the campaign ends, there is a fact check army, which digs out every post and tweet labeling it paid and plagiarized content.
3.Brands should avoid in the face advertising, as Influencer Marketing was itself born as a subtle marketing tactic. While brand managers feel that the message should go loud and clear, there is enough for the troll army to capture.
What would have been the right approach for Lovely Professional University?
Lovely Professional University would have taken a banter approach; hand in glove with Virat Kohli, where their social media team would have tweeted to 30-40 sports celebrities around the achievement and it would have been showcased that Virat Picked it up organically.
Banter Tweet By Lovely Professional (Hypothetical)
Hey @ViratKohli, do you know 11 athletes from Lovely Professional University are participating in the Olympics this time. We thought of letting you know as a flag bearer of sports in India.
Virat Kohli’s Reply (Hypothetical)
Amazing news @lpuuniversity I am sure you should open 10 more universities, will help Indian sports get more medals in the Olympics. Also, do send some great cricketers to the squad too. I am sure, you can.
About the Author:
Ashutosh Harbola is the Founder, CEO of Buzzoka, India's leading Influencer Marketing Company and has been an early adopters of the influencer marketing wave in India. He also Co-Founded Asia's 1st Influencer Marketing product, Blogmint in 2014 which was incubated by TTN Ventures. He has been a consultant to over 100 Category A brands in India under Buzzoka's Influencer Marketing Adoption Program.
4Psnews.com is a unique trade media platform that covers the entire marketing landscape across India. It envisions to become an amalgam of knowledge for the entire marketing fraternity.