Marketing Goes Beyond Grabbing The Attention - The Backlash!

Recently, we all heard about the blunder that the YesMadam team made to promote a service.

Few said it was an okay move to bring back the discussion to stressful situations at the workplace. However, the majority of people expressed their dissatisfaction with their approach.

In the competitive world of startups, where grabbing attention is crucial, even the most well-intentioned campaigns can misfire (and it did).

This incident not only put the company's name on everyone's lips but also left an indelible mark on its reputation — for all the wrong reasons.

Before writing this article, I watched the entire episode where they pitched and said - that their company is "India's most trusted and transparent" salon tech company.

They also got investments from 4 esteemed sharks, which shows that the sharks trusted them.

After seemingly going on the right path... What happened?

Their recent campaign was widely criticized and garnered significant backlash, leading many to question the brand's authenticity and judgment.

In case you don't know yet, the image below explains everything.

And then it blew up like fire 🔥🔥🔥on social media and news.

So many people started sharing their thoughts and lashed out badly.

The FIRST thought that came to my mind - Seriously?

And the second thought was - Could it be possible that they were trying to copy or model what Deepinder Goyal (founder of Zomato) did to hire the chief of staff?

But it is said in India that...

'नक़ल के लिए भी अक्ल चाहिए'

So, this was one part of the story.

Then, they released an update where they said, "No one was fired at YesMadam".

(If you want to read the release - click here)

On the next page of the release, they promoted their "destress" service.

Now, here are a couple of thoughts in my mind.

Number #1: Who approved this campaign, and what did they consider?

Did they also think that they would be appreciated like Deepinder Goyal?

Or they thought that once people knew the brand name - they would avail of the services anyway.

Of course, nobody knows if their overall revenue will grow or decline, but it does put their name in the mind for the wrong reasons.

Number #2: What happened to their HR head even if the marketing team suggested this idea?

Is it that she had to do what she was told?

If that's the case, it shows their HR lacks "critical thinking" and doesn't care about the company.

They just care about their job or salary.

Just imagine if she had to look for another job in the marketplace...

Because everyone has seen her name in the email screenshot, will the HR managers of the next company trust her decision-making and critical thinking?

Will she be hired?

Personally, I would NEVER recommend hiring such a person.

Number #3: Why did the person who affirmed the termination delete the post?

An employee also posted something after the 1st announcement to affirm the (false) termination made by the YesMadam team.

Here is the screenshot of the same...

After the clarification post by the company, this post was deleted. Why?

It also shows the quality of the marketing team and copywriters hired by the company.

Just imagine copywriters using misleading words on UX to attract more customers or have more bookings.

This makes me even more concerned about the ethics, which is far from what they said in the shark tank - "India's most trusted and transparent."

SORRY, TRUSTED AND TRANSPARENT COMPANIES DON'T DO THAT!!

Number 4#: How does it impact the decision of investors who put their money in the company?

I don't know how they took it and what their next stance will be.

But should they not pitch in and ask the company to control the damage? And if they don't agree, perhaps remove the investment as per their agreed clauses?

If you're an investor reading this, I would love to know your opinion.

Number #5: Why are they deleting people's comments?

Just now, when I went to the clarification post on LinkedIn, I saw a few comments that said...

"Wow! You deleted my comment? And you thought you could get away with it? Let me call you out one more time and take a screenshot before some poor intern has to manually delete it again. Here's what my earlier message read:.........."

"they deleted my comment about asking them to self-fire whoever came up with this stupid PR stunt, which was the most upvoted comment of this post."

This is such bad and immature behaviour from their team.

Rather than uplifting the company's image due to the campaign, they are giving people another reason to backfire.

I will let you evaluate and share your perspective in the comment section below.

Now, let's move to the next element, which is - what could have been done alternatively.

1. Have a team of consultants and mentors.

There needs to be a team or individual independent consultant(s) and mentor(s) who work for the company's best interest.

It appears that they didn't have any, and hence, this blunder happened.

2. Invest in a quality team of marketers/ copywriters

One of the most essential functions of the company is marketing, and when a company doesn't invest in the right talent, such damages happen, which are irreparable.

3. Have people who think independently

All team members, including HR, need to have a "critical thinking" ability.

When people just do what they have been told, they can't grow personally and thus can't contribute to the company's growth.

4. Test and Evaluate

Critically evaluate every campaign idea from multiple angles, considering its long-term implications for trust and reputation.

5. Learn from Mistakes

Use setbacks as opportunities to grow and improve rather than repeating the same errors (by deleting the comments and posts).

In addition to the above, it is pertinent to highlight one of the key copywriting principles that needs to be considered:

"Be clear, not clever"

From the entire campaign, it appears that they wanted to become clever, but instead, they should have focused on clarity and how people would interpret it.

Now, before closing this article, let's quickly think of some potential ideas they should have considered:

1. Ask their teams to record quick videos expressing how the company thinks about their well-being and giving necessary breaks.

True emotions with the right intent would have created a VERY good image of the company.

This would show that they, too, follow what they offer to other companies.

2. They could have gone one step further to let employees experience what they offer to other companies and get video responses from the parents/children/spouses.

It would be emotionally touching, and, at the same time, it would not be about selling the service but the good cause.

This is it for now.

So, what does it teach us?

Marketing is a powerful tool, but it must be used responsibly.

Founders and marketers have a choice: to build trust and loyalty or to chase fleeting attention.

The next time a bold marketing idea tempts you, ask yourself, "Will this build the reputation we want?"

In a world where trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, the answer to that question may define your brand's future.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.