Out of Scope Issue 44: Get ready for a year of Very Peri
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Out of Scope Issue 44: Get ready for a year of Very Peri
This week’s nonrequired thinking on reputation, business, and culture
This week, we’re looking at diplomatic boycotts, Mariah Carey popularity and burnout, anti-climatic IPOs, and unconventional Instagram takeovers.
💡ON OUR MINDS: Let the games (and boycotts) begin
This Monday, the Biden administration announced that it will fully support U.S. athletes competing at this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China, but won’t dispatch diplomats or officials to attend.
The reason? White House press secretary Jen Psaki explained that the U.S. has a “fundamental commitment to promoting human rights” and that it “will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games.” AP News reported, “The U.S. has accused China of human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs in northwest Xinjiang province, suppressing democratic movements in Hong Kong, committing military aggression against the self-ruled island of Taiwan and more.”
The boycott also follows the WTA’s decision to suspend all tournaments in China until they can conduct a full and transparent investigation -- without censorship -- into the sexual assault accusation from Peng Shuai, the 35-year-old tennis player who was once No. 1 in the world in doubles.
While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sought to play down the growing diplomatic boycott, Australia, UK, and Canada were quick to follow the U.S.’ lead.
Meanwhile, China has made it clear that they do not agree with the boycotts and think they are a “clear violation of the Olympic spirit,” even saying that “the U.S. will pay a price for its practices.”
As the arguably biggest PR event in the world for a country approaches, China is losing its chance to show off its culture and tourism, as well as prove itself in general amid growing global tensions and accusations.
These days, the gloves are off in the scrum between national values, national pride and reputation, and human rights issues.
🏆 BRAND WIN OF THE WEEK: Pantone
On Wednesday, Pantone announced its 2022 Color of the Year: PANTONE 17-3938, otherwise known as ‘Very Peri’.
Pantone unveils a shade that is selected by “thoughtful consideration and trend analysis.” The color then is said to influence product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home furnishings, and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.
Pantone’s Color of the Year is a top-notch example of a brand taking the thing they’re best at (color) and plugging into the culture at large. Ask yourself: What’s your organization’s equivalent of color of the year?
📡 ON OUR RADAR
The medium is the message? CNN terminated Chris Cuomo’s employment upon the revelation that he was involved in his brother's defense. Oddly, this was disseminated on social media via a memo written in what appears to be the notes app. A strange choice given the sensitive nature of the subject.
Buzzfeed captured lightning in a bottle over a decade ago with their ultra-clickable content, positioning themselves as the future of digital media. That was then. Now they’ve acquired Complex and gone public, but share value continues to drop—the Buzzfeed model isn’t looking as promising as it once did.
Here’s your friendly reminder to avoid sensitive conversations during your next Uber ride. The ride-sharing company announced in a press release its new safety measures, including audible seat belt alerts, RideCheck enhancements, and a driver and rider audio recording option within the app.
Industry Dive’s Sean Griffey continues to demonstrate the power of finding your audience then serving them with focused expertise. As Brian Morrisey puts it here, “niche doesn’t mean small.”
Do millions of followers mean a better chance at book sales? Not according to an increasing amount of publishers, who are learning that there’s more to success than just follower counts. Not a bad lesson for other industries to pick up on, too.
There are a lot of interesting notions surrounding the way advertising trends are failing or succeeding. One of these trends is the use of nostalgia in marketing. Quartz makes the claim that an inability to keep up with the speed at which trends are minted on social media, is to blame for brands reliance, instead, on nostalgia. However, it’s important to remember that to market notalgia effectively is not merely a matter of referencing an old thing, it’s contextualizing that old thing in new ways for older consumers.
GroupM published its global end-of-year forecast, most notably and unsurprisingly reporting that digital advertising will likely end 2021 growing by 30.5% (excluding U.S. political advertising), accounting for 64.4% of total advertising. These numbers are mostly driven by emerging marketers who rely on digital over television, where the larger brands are spending.
At an NYC bus stop, an unapproved anti-vax ad tried to disguise itself as an official vaccination release (same font, layout, and colors) that listed 10 reasons to not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Reason No. 1: “It could kill you.” The false and blatantly misleading claims were not well received by the local community and social media.
Ukraine actually posted this…. give this social media manager a raise.
The latest unpredictable brand to enter the metaverse: Marriott International. One of the first hospitality brands to create its own NFTs, the brand auctioned three digital pieces during Art Basel Miami. Despite opinions of NFTs as gimmicks, Marriott, along with many other brands, have plans to continue building their presence in the metaverse through 2022.
Calvin Klein switched up their Instagram strategy with a “takeover” from SNL comedian Pete Davidson that featured Machine Gun Kelly -- both of whom have steadily upped their marketing games amid all the publicity their love lives have received.
’Tis the season of celebrity sit-downs to clear their names post-tragedy. While Alec Baldwin sat down with ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos to discuss his involvement in the Rust shooting, Travis Scott sat down with Charlamagne the God to deny responsibility in the nine deaths of Astroworld attendees. The generally unfavorable feedback from both interviews -- due in part to how both Baldwin and Scott admit little fault -- shows that when the court of public opinion has made its judgment, not even the most traditional modes of media engagement designed to invoke sympathy can absolve you of your involvement and protect you from reputational damage.
Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ has topped the charts again this holiday season. But this year, the tune broke through more milestones by becoming the first holiday song to be certified diamond in recorded music history. But not everyone is a fan of the inescapable song, as one Texas bar made clear.
TikTok is known for its ability to make everyday people microcelebrities through its algorithmic feedback loop that spreads viral videos far and wide. ‘Couch Guy’, as he is notoriously known, is no exception. When his girlfriend posted a TikTok video that showed his reaction to her surprise visit, speculation about their relationship spread like wildfire. Instances like this bring into question the power and influence that TikTok can have on people's lives.
We’ll see you here next week! 👋
HL
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