I was scrolling on Instagram when I saw an Instastory objecting to two posts from a brand. The poster had mentioned that whoever was handling the marketing and copywriting for the brand should be fired. What was so atrocious, I wondered? The communicator in me jumped!
First, she complained that the detergent company addressed cleaning as self-care in a bid to look cool. While there are people who use cleaning to de-stress, it is no longer news that so many people don’t see cleaning as self-care and both sides are legitimate. But for some reason, the brand still insists that research has proven cleaning equates to self-care.
What is wrong with this stance? Here’s what I believe. We live in a time when a lot of people are sensitive, and brands must be in touch with the present-day nuances, no matter how little. Failure to do this can make your communication out of touch and draw backlash that may be detrimental to the brand. This is why it does not matter what research states, since there has been a growing dissatisfaction from some women about being solely responsible for cleaning, equating it to self-care for women must have been quite disturbing for this group. No matter how small the group is, it is essential to cater to those people with your communication so you don’t lose them.
Brands that want to write compelling copies and communicate effectively must be aware of what the word on the streets is, especially as it relates to their industry. This helps your message come from what you have learned about the needs and nuances of your client. No brand should imagine that it knows what the customer wants or how the customer thinks without research.
You would think it ended there, but the brand did something even more intriguing. This time, they were celebrating Worker’s day (A holiday in Nigeria given to workers to rest). The copy read, ‘Sheroes rest too. Happy Workers Day.’ Women went ballistic in the comments.
Is cleaning only for women?
