Managing branded posts

Mar 8, 2016

Hi all!

3 months ago, Adidas and popular social media influencer Andrea Chong were caught up in a social media fix regarding Chong’s participation in the Standard Chartered race. In the photo posted by Chong, she is seen wearing a Standard Chartered Bib while running the marathon (see photo here: http://mothership.sg/2015/12/singapore-now-has-its-own-ridiculously-photogenic-marathon-runner-but/). There were rumours that she did not complete the marathon. Netizens also pointed out that the bib was in fact registered under another person, an intern with PR firm Edelman. In response, Chong removed the post and uploaded a new photo (http://www.marketing-interactive.com/adidas-marathon-faux-pas-can-you-afford-to-be-careless-with-branded-posts/).

The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) has stated that it will develop a set of guidelines on digital and social media marketing and advertising activities. The guidelines will “establish the levels of disclosure that are required of sponsored messages that appear on blogs and social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Marketers will be required to make sponsored messages distinguishable from personal opinions and editorial content in their posts and disclose any commercial relationships.”

What constitutes as a branded post? Will simply hashtagging or tagging the brand in the post count as that?

This set of guidelines will be extremely pertinent, especially in light of the recent spate of events involving NTUC Income and Rebecca Lim’s “retirement”.

Clara (G1)

One response to “Managing branded posts”

KyuJin SHIM

March 23, 2016 at 9:36 pm

Again, here we see another social media disaster, mainly due to fake gestures of organization and influencer. We should ensure that influencer strategy is real and genuine because, as we learned in class, “transparency” and “openness” are key concepts separating the nature of social media buzz from that of traditional media. It should be obvious that using overkill strategies is contrary to social media tides.

Please keep in mind that Netizens always are hungry for the issues, and aggressively and severely ready to demand truth and full explanation about the messes. Although almost every social media buzz is short-lived, it does scar. And that Scarlet Letter, so to speak, lives on permanently as a digital stamp on one’s whole career. Trust and credibility are the most valuable and fundamental assets for social media, whereas mistrust and disrepute are the most damaging and fundamental harms. The paradox is that most influencers are not professional or trained journalists but, instead, online celebs keener on building awareness and followings via sharing their personal moments and experiences, than on social values based on absolute truth and substantiated arguments.

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