Spokesperson + Social Media = ????
Ok… so there is a large real estate company here that is diving into the world of social media. They’ve got a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and even a blog.
They decided to use a spokesperson, “Hailey Brownstone,” as the face of the campaign. (She’s even on YouTube.)
What’s interesting is that “Hailey Brownstone” is a fictional character. The pictures and videos you see are actually of an account representative playing the role of “Hailey.”
A few of us are having a discussion on whether or not this is a good strategy. Personally, I think they are going about this the wrong way. They’re applying the old school marketing mentality to social media. That doesn’t work because social media is about connecting with people and creating conversations…
I wrote those thoughts on another blog and shortly after, I got an email from Jarad (the man running the campaign.) Jarad is a really cool guy and was truly interested in learning more about social media strategy. Since I’m only one opinion… I’m leaving it up to you. What do you think of the campaign so far?
Do they have a good approach?
Is it good to have a fictional spokesperson for the campaign?
Would you know that Hailey isn’t a real person?
What would you change in their strategy?
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I don’t see a problem with this. Old school companies use spokespersons. Do I need to “connect” with the CEO, President, or owner of the firm, probably not. Good thought provoking post though.
As long as they’re upfront about it being a character, I don’t really mind. I think it could be a benefit if several reps were to split the responsibility, and the character was used to keep things consistent.
What I really don’t like about this video is that it seems really scripted. For example, “I can’t believe I used to rent.” This is what will make people mad. If they have a fictional character, AND put advertising-style words in her mouth, they will come off as shallow and self-serving.
They need to get away from the script asap, and take their normal copywriters off the job. Social media can’t be done the same way they do normal advertising. It needs to sound, and feel authentic.
Since Andy already provided the questions and therefore the framework:
What do you think of the campaign so far?
Well, I think its blatantly disingenuous, which is a turn off for any social media. I agree with Andy that social media is about connections. That is not to say that it cannot be about a company or even a fictional character. But while I follow Darth Vader on Twitter, I know Darth doesn’t exist in real life. I know the twitter isn’t a “Hailey” product, but I think the facebook page really puts it over the top and into the realm of cheesy marketing. People simply don’t know that when they receive a friend request from Hailey that she is fictional, and possibly depending on your definition a spammer. Also, I suspect the Hailey Brownstone Facebook page violates FB’s terms of service, which may open up Hubbell to civil liability [See the recent Lori Drew Case.] Its just a place I probably wouldn’t go unless I absolutely had to.
I’m okay with Hailey being fictional but there needs to be a disclaimer pointing that out. With a disclaimer, I think the blog would be fine. The “HaileyBrownstone.com is a promotional micro-site for Hubbell Homes” language on the blog is inadequate. Real people are paid for maintaining promotional blogs all the time. Reading the blog and seeing the facebook material makes Hailey appear to be a real person.
Do they have a good approach?
Honestly, the writing on the blog and youtube videos are well done. But I think they would be effective even if people know Hailey is fictional. People are more likely to see this campaign as trickery or poorly done once Hailey is outed as “pretend” [which is what appears to have happened.]. I think as it is the campaign is riskier than it needs to be. I’m sure the last thing Hubbell would want is news channels doing an investigative report or even a color piece on their character.
Is it good to have a fictional spokesperson for the campaign?
Fictional characters work in commercials all of the time, and will continue to, but users expect people in commercials to be fictional. The same does not hold true for facebook generally.
Would you know that Hailey isn’t a real person?
I’m a graduate school student who spends a lot of time online. I also consider myself pretty observant. The first thing I noticed on the blog [note that I was prompted to look for red flags by this post] was the “Micro-site” clause on the sidebar. But after I looked at the facebook badge again, I honestly would not have even considered that Hailey was fictional. What reason would I have?
What would you change in their strategy?
I would close the Facebook account right away. Hubbell could always start a “fan” page on facebook. The blog and videos are fine, so long as readers are alerted to the fact that Hailey is fictional. Of course this wouldn’t have to be in flashing letters in the header of the page. To do so would ruin the campaign. I would simply edit the sidebar disclaimer to include a sentence explaining that Hailey is a fictional character.
That got long quickly and this comment box is very small so forgive me if my comment is not well edited. [But if its not well thought out you can certainly hold me accountable.]
No, I do not think this works, for the simple reason that social media is about building relationships, and you can’t really form a relationship with a fictional character. If I was a follower of this campaign, I would not be happy to find out that she is not real. I know Jarad, and I think he would be a marvelous real person to follow. This sort of smells like a very clever agency giving a very cleaver pitch to a company with social media newbies. Don’t know the agency, but they should recommend a more authentic approach. Either way, they have engaging content and are off to a good start here, just need to focus on transparency.
Thanks for comments everyone.
@Katie - I think the key word (like you said) is authenticity.
@eschapp - You had a lot of really good points. I think the most important was the one about Facebook legality… That could create some trouble.
@Claire - It’s about relationships and transparency… I totally agree with you.
I think the ads and the campaign designer are missing the point entirely about social media and how to use the tools.
One of the great things that has come out of more avenues to get your message out there, is that you don’t have to “fake the message” any longer. In fact, if you do fake it, you are more likely to get irate reactions than positive ones.
On one of my other blogs I wrote a long post about an experience I had launching the ill-fated Time-Warner Entertaindom (which was supposed to be THE entertainment portal). One of the Vice-Presidents of the company would go on the message boards under fake names and pretend to be a user. “Isn’t this cool? Wow I love this site!” etc etc.
And people saw through it immediately.
In today’s world, if you are going to use the tools, you have to know how to use them effectively. Using a spokesperson with a different name is definitely not the way to go. If you have to use a spokesman, have them use their real name.
As you said, they are using old-school ideas in a new medium… and it shows their lack of understanding. While it is great they have some sort of a presence, I think they need to do a little more research and find out how to best use the tools, not just throw something up.
But remember, the first television shows were once radio shows - it is a growing process. So instead of condemning at this point, a simple clarification and explanation of transparency in today’s marketplace may be all they need.
@troy - Your last paragraph is kind of what Jarad said. This was their first attempt at social media… they are continually learning and refining their strategy. It’s good to see a large company that is committed to learning about social media.
Thanks for the comments everyone. This should really help them out!
I have no problem with a company hiring an actor to do this kind of promotion, but when you try to make real relationships / connections with people using the vid to promote this it becomes a marketing conflict. Twitter and other social media rely on an aspect of truth or more to the point in real life honesty. That wasn’t the case here and Hubbell isn’t going to get long term relationships out of this video in Des Moines. They had a holiday party at Hubbell the same night of a #dmtweetup and I invited them to swing over. They knew of our thing because someone there was at a #dmtweetup. I though I might be talking with the person in the video, but nope I wasn’t. Hope Hubbell is able to use social media in 2009 that allows them to strengthen relationships by allowing them to happen instead of feigning them in hopes to do business with some of us. In my marketing opinion this was not effective promotion.
@John - i think the key thing you mentioned was *long term* relationships. They might have short term success with this plan… but I don’t think it’s sustainable.
This looks more like advertising to me than anything else.
Just to be clear, I don’t think they’ve done anything illegal. But breaking internet terms of service can open you up to civil liability.
@John @Andy I agree with the long term relationships sucess not happening.
@andy WP 2.7 has threaded comments which reduces the @’s. Or I like the Intensedebate plug-in which works without editing themes.
Thank you for all of the comments about our Hailey Brownstone campaign. Our full response can be seen here: http://is.gd/czDT Thank you,
Jarad