{"id":107817,"date":"2018-01-11T18:53:20","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T16:53:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/dear-hm-we-need-to-talk\/"},"modified":"2018-01-11T18:53:20","modified_gmt":"2018-01-11T16:53:20","slug":"dear-hm-we-need-to-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/dear-hm-we-need-to-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear H&M, we need to talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear H&M, we need to talk<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\"H&M<\/p>\n

H&M online campaign<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Anne Dolinschek, Head of Consumer PR, Conversations Group @AnneDoli @Conversations_G<\/p>\n

My wardrobe has generally loved H&M. Their clothing is trendy, relatively affordable and easy to wear. The retailer made a couple of faux pas over the last couple of years, but their last one broke the camel\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

Please fam, it\u2019s 2018! How are they not woke? The ad that ran as part of their online children\u2019s campaign, which showed a black child wearing a hoodie with the words \u201cCoolest Monkey in the jungle\u201d printed on the front, was absolutely inexcusable.<\/p>\n

As a person in the PR world, a couple of things baffle me:<\/p>\n

Firstly, we all know what vigorous approval processes big corporates have in place for content that represents their brand. So, how did this ad get approved? From internal agency and client approvals, how did no one think that this might cause issues?<\/p>\n

Secondly, with racial tensions running high in almost every part of the globe, H&M\u2019s lame excuse that their processes weren\u2019t followed properly doesn\u2019t hold water for me. It begs the question about the company\u2019s brand values that would inform the conceptualisation and execution of marketing campaigns. It is also highly unlikely that the whole campaign was shot in one take. The creatives must have a choice of other pics of the boy wearing different clothes.<\/p>\n

And lastly, their PR team should have warned H&M of the reputational damage such a campaign can cause.<\/p>\n

This also begs the question whether H&M consulted with their PR team at all? We see time and time again that PR teams are forgotten when it comes to advertising and digital campaigns when really, they’re an integral part. Brands need to realise that all teams should be involved when it comes to any form of public communication. It\u2019s paramount for reputation management.<\/p>\n

2018 will be the year where we see the ever-blurring lines between PR, marketing, digital and advertising dissolve.<\/p>\n

Brands need a holistic communications approach in order to anticipate the full extent and impact of their actions and thus avoid reputational damage. This means that brands need communications partners that will assist them from start to finish, i.e. content creation, distribution, engagement and consumer relations. With this much more accurate predictions can be made and strategies formulated using data collected throughout the process to create consumer-centric campaigns.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za.<\/p>\n

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