Fri-YAY! It’s time to kick off your favourite day of the week with another edition of our weekly digital marketing roundup.
Here’s what we’re chatting about today: the #10YearChallenge meme, Glossier’s everyday influencer strategy, Gillette’s new short film, Slack’s redesign, Justin Trudeau’s Kentucky billboard, and of course… how could we forget about that little egg?
Let’s jump in!
The #10YearChallenge – Just For Fun or Something More?
Chances are you’ve seen a whole lot of these “10 year challenge” posts if you’ve been browsing Facebook and other social media channels this week. From brands to celebrities and friends and family, it seems like everyone is getting in on the comparison fun.
While the meme seems harmless enough, some were skeptical about the intent behind the challenge and shared concerns about the push for personal data. Could it be a way for Facebook and other social applications to collect facial recognition data and train age progression algorithms?
Me 10 years ago: probably would have played along with the profile picture aging meme going around on Facebook and Instagram
Me now: ponders how all this data could be mined to train facial recognition algorithms on age progression and age recognition— Kate O'Neill (@kateo) January 12, 2019
Facebook has denied having any hand in the viral photo challenge at all, noting that “this is a user-generated meme that went viral on its own…Facebook did not start this trend, and the meme uses photos that already exist on Facebook. Facebook gains nothing from this meme…Facebook users can choose to turn facial recognition on or off at any time.”
Even if the intent behind the challenge is indeed harmless, those speaking out against it certainly bring up a good point – we must be careful with personal data online and also demand it be respected by brands and apps with access.
Everyone is an Influencer Now, According to Glossier
Glossier is a direct-to-consumer beauty startup that you’ve probably seen on social media. Beautifully packaged and affordably priced, it’s no wonder Glossier has a cult following. According to CEO Emily Weiss, the brand can also attribute success to the fact that it regards every consumer (regardless of their follower count) as an influencer.
How many times have you seen a close friend or acquaintance share their love for a product or service online and had it pique your interest? How many times has that interest resulted in a purchase?
With over 500 brand ambassadors and social feeds that place emphasis on user-generated content, Glossier has achieved a low-key strategy that’s barely there – much like their products.
Have you turned to your consumers for user-generated content? Don’t know how to get started with a marketing strategy that highlights your everyday influencers? We can help.
An Egg Holds the World Record for Most Instagram Likes
In bizarre internet news, a picture of an egg has surpassed Kylie Jenner’s previous record for most likes on Instagram. No, we’re not yolking (see what we did there?).
With 46.5 million likes (and counting), a picture of an egg on a plain white background absolutely smashed Kylie’s previous Instagram record of 18.1 million likes. Also funny: Kylie’s response. Sergey Platonov, the stock photographer behind the image, thinks the hype is totally overrated.
Did you help the little egg achieve the new world record? What about the post made it “like-worthy” for you? Let us know in the comments below.
Gillette’s New Short Film Asks, “Is this the best a man can get?”
Gillette’s controversial new ad is challenging men to push themselves and do more to get closer to their best. Referencing harassment and toxic masculinity, the short film also mentions the #MeToo movement and insists, “When you respect women, you respect your nation.”
While some have applauded Gillette for joining the conversation, many called out the brand for attempting to “do good” in an effort to sell more. At the time this post was written, the video had 483k thumbs up on YouTube and 919k thumbs down.
What do you think? Is the ad a true attempt to do some social good or a thinly veiled tool to push a corporate agenda? Watch the video below.
Slack’s Got a New Logo, and Not Everyone is Excited
On Wednesday, Slack unveiled a new logo in an attempt to refresh their look. According to Slack, the new logo is more consistent, recognizable, and refined.
As with most change, people had opinions – some positive, some confused, and some that swore they’d seen it before:
me looking at all the new updates to slack pic.twitter.com/oXuOAH1Hcf
— sean yoo (@SeanYoo) January 16, 2019
This is a great write-up on evolving a brand identity. No fluff, no inside baseball design speak.
Their previous identity:
1. was designed when they were a startup
2. was difficult to work with
3. was inconsistentThese are business decisions, not change for the sake of change. https://t.co/rnOnlqEZFa
— Joshua Blankenship (@blankenship) January 16, 2019
This is a rare blog post that took me from knee-jerk "I hate the new logo" to "that totally makes sense, good work". https://t.co/DjtQAXHiDF
— Avi Bryant (@avibryant) January 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/1085621849176883200
What are your thoughts about the refresh? It might take us a little getting used to…
Friday Fun – Trudeau’s Kentucky Billboard
Our nation’s leader got some laughs on Reddit this week when a user shared a picture of the Trudeau family canoeing on a Kentucky billboard.
Says u/NevinWebster, “we haven’t quite learned not to steal pictures from the Internet yet.”
Check out the ad and thread for a giggle.
