The pandemic has emphasised this even more. More than ever, people no longer just want to see highlights of people’s lives. People want to connect with content that relates to their day-to-day lives. This is seen as part of the demand by followers to have more real, authentic experiences on social media rather than the filtered, retouched effects resulting in seemingly picture-perfect photos.
Paul Moloi, marketing manager at Liqui Fruit, shares more about the South African fruit juice brand's latest campaign, which was rolled out on TV, in-store, digital and PR with influencers.
#RealLooksGoodOnYou
"The purpose of the #RealLooksGoodOnYou campaign was to connect with young South Africans by encouraging them to embrace only what feels ‘real’ in a society that celebrates perfection and superficiality. Social media is layered with filters and often depicts something that isn’t necessarily a true representation of real life. It’s becoming tough for young people to understand the difference between what is real and what is fake," says Moloi.
"As a brand that is made with nothing but Real Fruit, Liqui Fruit understands the importance of living in the real world, in a real way and wanted to use this campaign to celebrate authenticity and honesty. We used fashion as a vehicle to demonstrate that it’s possible to break out of the stereotypes and conventions we see daily in social media and create your own unique style that stands out from the rest."
Moloi elaborates on the collaboration with local designers and the reasoning being this, "There is a growing trend of ‘genuine influencers’ or ‘real influencers’ who are disrupting the so-called “perfect moments” captured in social media selfies. Influencers are connecting with their followers through authenticity, showing their sincere, real selves as the ‘new cool’."
Moloi says that Liqui Fruit wanted to leverage that trend and hone in on the world of fashion where there so many talented and unique creators that are inspiring people to be bold and authentic in their style choices.
Collaborations
They decided to partner with two upcoming local designers, Hadassah of Hadassah Bhero and Zoliswa Mbadu of Evolving Revolver who they felt both represented that ‘realness’. In doing so, they wanted to highlight this with the consumers so that the audiences would resonate well with their value proposition.
Moloi adds that they researched and approached Zimkita Mbete and Zoliswa Mbadu to get involved as they believed there were many synergies with their personalities and the brand’s sense of authenticity and realness.
When asked about the process for assigning these influencers with Liqui Fruit and if there was a criterium, Moloi responds, "It was important for us to support and partner with local designers and influencers. The criterium was merely people/partners that we felt were naturally aligned with the proposition of the campaign (realness) and brand values of Liqui Fruit. We also looked at people that weren’t necessarily complying with stereotypes of perfection and that had something unique about them and their style."
The brand message the company was sending out was that Liqui Fruit understands the importance of living in the real world, in a real way. The brand believes in the goodness of ‘real’ and celebrates authenticity and honesty.
The #RealLooksGoodOnYou campaign encourages South Africans to live by their true colours, embracing themselves and what is real in the world and creating their very own fashion statements.Consumers want to see authentic influencers. However, influencers are living a life of luxury, or so it is portrayed. So how do you find that brand connection with someone, who cannot afford to wake up every day and look as glamorous as influencers?
Moloi comments, "There are certainly a lot of influencers that appear to be living very glamorous lives and that creates unrealistic expectations for everyday people in terms of how they should look and live.
"With this campaign, we aimed to counteract this perception by encouraging people to create their own unique fashion sense in ways that work for them, setting them free from that comparison trap. ‘Real looks good on you’ is all about telling people to feel confident to create their own style, irrespective of what others are doing or what it costs etc."
