When influence is rewarded with financial benefits, what would we do to get our hands on more? **By Kit McKay**
Controversy can be a powerful weapon in the pursuit of influence. Learn how to wield it without injuring yourself.
By Kit McKay
In Netflix’s Black Mirror, a science fiction anthology series examining the effects of new technology on modern society, we see a world completely driven by clout. In the episode Nosedive, every person has a rating from one to five stars for every interaction they have. The higher their accumulative rating, the better socioeconomic benefits they have access to.
Lacie, a woman obsessed with increasing her rating so she can live in a nicer apartment, suffers a series of unfortunate events that cause her to have a rapid reduction in her rating. Her low rating prevents her from common services like buying airplane tickets or renting cars. It eventually becomes so low that she’s imprisoned, where they remove the digital system from her eyes. It’s only then that she realizes the freedom of not having to worry about her influence anymore.
Sounds crazy? Not really. This system already exists within the popular lift-sharing app Uber, where drivers and passengers rate each other on a scale from 0 to 5.
And the Zhima credit system in China is about as close as it gets: a private credit system based on how “trustworthy” you are, with everything from online behavior to the quality of your friends affecting your rating.
It might not be as overt as the system in Nosedive, but we do live in a world driven by clout. When greater influence is rewarded with real financial benefits, what would we do to get our hands on more?
When Lord Acton, the 19th-century British politician, coined this phrase to convey the idea that increased influence leads to diminished morality, he probably wasn’t referring to social media stars, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
In Nosedive, negative behavior is punished with a reduction in your rating, making you less influential. But, in reality, we know it’s not that simple. Some of the most influential people in the world have benefited from controversy: Donald Trump, Piers Morgan, Chris Brown, Megyn Kelly.
When YouTuber and social media influencer, Logan Paul, hit worldwide news in early 2018 for uploading a video of a man who had killed himself in Japan’s “Suicide Forest”, his name was suddenly everywhere. Was it negative press? Of course. But it ultimately contributed to his career and influence in the social media industry.
► The outrage against Logan Paul's video covered in the news
That same year, he made $14.5m and has since continued to make controversial videos that grow his clout. Speaking on his podcast, ImPaulsive, about one of his recent videos, he said:
“I bank on the naivety of old people and millennials to perpetuate my brand, make me go viral, and keep me relevant. The amount of earned media I got because of this clip – hundreds of thousands of dollars, for free, because of the haters.”
Influencers can financially benefit from controversy brought about by negative anti-social behavior. But what does that mean for the brands who associate or partner with them?
While controversy can be used by celebrities and influencers in exchange for clout, it’s potentially catastrophic for businesses. So when one half of this relationship opts for controversy, how should the brand react?
According to Sanjay Sarma, founder of branding and design consultancy Design Worldwide:
“While positive conduct leads to exponential gains, negative associations can erode market value in no time. So it’s a tricky path. But when endorsers set a wrong example, brands need to take a hard unemotional business decision. If the endorser does not represent the brand values anymore, he/she deserves to go.”
Nike is a brand that has had to deal with these decisions more than most. Following controversies, it has broken brand deals with the likes of Maria Sharapova, Lance Armstrong, and S. Sreesanth.
But Nike is loyal to its influencers when their brand values are in line with the controversial action. Colin Kaepernick, an American football quarterback, became one of the most controversial figures in the US when he protested police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. He was also made the face of Nike’s new brand campaign.
quarterback, became one of the most controversial figures in the US when he protested police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. He was also made the face of Nike’s new brand campaign.
This decision was met with a lot of criticism. #BoycottNike and #JustBurnIt trended on Twitter, with people threatening to throw out or burn all their Nike products in retaliation.
Although the brand's popularity had taken a hit with some groups, the risk ultimately paid off. The campaign attracted record social media likes, more than $160 million in tv, radio, and digital media exposure, and a huge surge in Nike's online sales. Nike's stocks soared in response, adding $6 billion to their business.
One of their commercials featuring Kaepernick has recently been nominated for an Emmy [featured].
▶︎ Watch Dream Crazy – Nike's Emmy nominated ad featuring Kaepernick
Brands are understandably quick to drop relationships with influential people who cross the moral code or values of the business.
But that doesn’t mean brands should shy away from controversy completely. Nike aligned with the principles of Kaepernick’s actions and was happy to stand alongside him. This proved to be the right business decision as they knew that the majority of their target audience shared the same views.
For a brand to be influential, it needs to be willing to leverage controversy. If you want to be high up in the status quo, you need some way of propelling yourself to the top levels of influence.
Turtl’s CEO and founder, Nick Mason, understands this better than most:
“The worst marketing, especially for a small company or challenger brand, is the kind that makes people go “meh”. It’s better to piss off 80% of people if you can get a loyal 20% behind your cause. Once you’ve grown to a place where you are the status quo, you can soften your messaging as you don’t need to polarize as much in order to grow influence.”
if you can get a loyal 20% behind your cause. Once you’ve grown to a place where you are the status quo, you can soften your messaging as you don’t need to polarize as much in order to grow influence.”
For large companies, aligning with controversial influencers can be an effective way to really cement their brand values and grow clout among their target audience. For small companies, controversy can be a tool to cut through the noise, shake up the status quo, and establish more influence than they would be able to otherwise.
When chasing clout, whether you’re a business or an individual, you have to allow your own moral or brand values to drive every decision you make. If your beliefs are aligned with your actions, then any controversy that arises won’t negatively impact the people you’re targetting, and you won’t be supporting a person or cause you don’t agree with. In this way, you grow your influence without turning to the dark side.
