France Vichy Cosmetics
Blog or not to blog?
Critical issues using a blog as a corporate communications tool
In the year 2005 Vichy used a blog as a corporate communications tool to launch a new brand in the French market as a part of a marketing program. Soon after launching it, the truthfulness of a character in the blog - Claire - was doubted and the company suffered a image loss. What went wrong?
The use of blogs as corporate communications tools is quite new. The internet changed the way corporations can communicate with their clients. But not only that, also the other way around: the internet changed the way in which clients and other peers communicate among themselves and with the companies.
The internet makes a dialog happen, which is a very powerful instrument for the companies, as they get to know better their clients. In many different blogs they can follow what their clients think about a product, what they like about it and what they don't. The company nowadays gets much closer to the client as a few years ago.
If a company starts it's own blog, as Vichy did, there is only a thin line between guerilla marketing and fake-blogging. Fake-blogging in the sense of being active under a false identity. The anonymity of a blog - normally you just use a fantasy name - makes it very easy to manipulate the content of a blog. Delphine, Vichy's brand manager for the new anti-aging product, created the false identity Claire. Claire put model-like photos online and was talking in the Vichy language, which unveiled her fake identity quickly. A blog without criticism is not credible, is not authentic.
One characteristic of a blog is that the creator can hardly control it's content. Basically it's the user of the blog who controls it and decides over the content. If the blog is about your products, the user will write what he likes about them, but he'll also make public what he hates about them. Once the users unveiled your real identity respectively your real interests behind your comments, you have a credibility problem, which can go much further than the blog itself, as seen in the case. The management of Vichy is thinking about a communications strategy to meet the public criticism.
After the scandal Delphine discloses the story of Claire in the blog and apologizes. Doing that, Delphine commits the next big error: She agrees to accept any comments, also negative ones till Wednesday, but only if they have to do with the blog. This is exactly the paternalism that a blogger will never accept. She actually gives them the permission to write to her, but in the same moment she restricts the comments and gives them a deadline.
Obviously Delphine is the wrong person for this job, she hasn't understood the nature of a corporate blog. If the advertising agency is to blame is hard to tell. Their competencies and their vast client portfolio underline their professionalism.
Through the scandal the blog has gained a lot of public interest. That's why I would use this communication channel also for the response strategy.
I would build on the character of Claire, but clearly stated as a virtual company representative who answers questions and gives advices. Absolute transparency is essential. Her personality should become less perfect such as the clients can identify themselves with her.
I wouldn’t doubt the appropriateness of using a blog as a communication channel for a anti-aging product. May be today the company doesn't reach all the potential consumers with that channel, but this will change very fast. Besides it will never be the only channel but one of many. The communication mix is essential. Within this mix a blog is certainly an interesting medium which contains certain risks, as it is a young medium. But it also contains a big potential.
