Troll Marketing – Is it Right for Brands to Troll Each Other?
In the history of troll marketing, Nigeria has never really ranked so high. Our morals have probably overshadowed any form of immorality and disrespect, even when it comes to marketing.
(Update – Explains why Sterling Bank was reported #myopinion)
Marketing is a little bit hard. Wait, did I just say a “little bit“?
I obviously meant to say “a lot hard“. In fact, marketing is quite harder than we want it to be and the game keeps getting tougher by the second.
During the 2016 election in the United States, Trump made trolling his major obligation. He consistently threw shades at Hillary Clinton and confidently used the #crookedHillary.
This is really no news, considering the fact that he’s still very petty and enjoys calling himself the toughest president in the history of America. Who can blame him though, he’s just trying to “sell his market“. Afterall, he eventually won the election.
This is the same system Nigerian Banks have suddenly adopted!
Is it a good idea?
Will the strategy achieve its aim?
Before we dive into the realities of this marketing strategy, I’d like to show you some hilaroius trolling images.
Apparently, three different housing brands decided to engage in a billboard drama and it didn’t end well for the preceding brand.
The first brand innocently puts up a billboard, then another housing brand fixed a counter billboard above theirs. Housing wasn’t having it, so they had to put CommonFloor.com in their rightful place.
Well, as you can see, a totally different brand decided to cut to the chase and seal the deal with their company number.
This is cruel, right? Wait till you see what Pepsi did to Coca-Cola.
Although Coca-Cola retaliated, it just didn’t cut it. They simply did a remake of what Pepsi did, so Pepsi was declared the winner of this troll match. If you’re in for some laughs, you can watch the five best Pepsi vs Coke commercials on YouTube.
Right after watching all the trolling commercials between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, I grabbed a bottle of Pepsi. That’s an evidence that troll marketing isn’t so messy. If done right, it’s a good deal!
Just as I mentioned earlier, Sterling Bank decided to shake some tables a few days back. They literally subbed six Nigerian banks using one single graphic image.
The other banks didn’t fail to nail Sterling Bank in the butt, they responded swiftly, except GTB though.
I’m so sure GTB was trying to play matured. As you can see the 2017 Bank Profit analysis in the gallery below, they literally have nothing to prove.
Personally, I’d say it worked. Considering the number of customers who responded positively on their timeline and hailed them for being so creative, it did work.
At the same time, I’d conclude that Sterling Bank didn’t really think this whole thing through if you ask me. Explains why they deleted the tweet minutes before I started writing this blog post.
They just couldn’t keep up with the comebacks, and this will definitely have the “such cowards” effect on their customers.
However, troll marketing isn’t for every single brand.
Brands need to take a long, consecrated look at themselves before engaging in this kind of marketing approach. For brands who are recognized as funny and playful, it would be really cool to thrill your audience and draw more customers.
On the other hand, startups and small business brands are less known in the marketplace and on social media platforms. Therefore, they need to critically examine the risks and benefit before appearing cool.
Effective troll marketing can take a small brand to unimaginable places in no time, but the tiniest mistake can easily kill it.
The blow would be less hurtful for a big brand like Wendy’s, an American fast food company competing with McDonald’s.
This reply melted my very heart, it was so hurtful and highly effective, but it’s still not advisable for every brand.
After this reply and many others, Wendy’s became everyone’s favorite brand on Twitter because of its series of sarcastic tweets and trolls.
They got the much-needed attention, just like Sterling Bank. But then again, just like First Bank and the others, trolls were waiting to strike back and they soon had their chance.
Wendy’s posted a Pepe meme without realizing that the symbol had been adopted by the so-called alt-right.
The internet didn’t overlook this mistake, blasting Wendy’s on all sides, and after 15 minutes, they deleted the offending image.
Sounds like the same reason why Sterling Bank deleted their tweet.
Maybe, they couldn’t keep up with the realization of the fact that they were the least on the 2017 Bank Profit chart or maybe, someone who couldn’t take a small joke reported them.
[tweetshare tweet=”Effective troll marketing can take a small brand to unimaginable places in no time, but the tiniest mistake can easily kill it.”]
What Does This Teach Us?
As a brand (Small or Fortune 500), once you start trolling, you’ll need to be constantly creative, cunning and clever. Your comebacks can’t be lame, they need to be hot, this is the only way to win! So, make sure one employee is dedicated to taking subs and turning them into prospective customers.
If you’re not up for the dirty and aggressive game, kindly take a seat and focus on other marketing strategies. But, if you choose to swing your nets into the trolling waters, be prepared to commit because there’s no going back!
One more advice, never ignore insults coming from your critics or directed to your followers.
Whether you engage in troll marketing or not, always respond to comments (positive and negative). If you choose to stay mute for the sake of peace, you just might lose a ton of customers. Even the world isn’t peaceful, so why should you be?
Just as attaining success isn’t for the feeble, business isn’t for the feeble either!
