PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu – When moment marketing gets mired in newsjacking

It has happened again. Brands are riding the euphoria over Indian athletes winning medals in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, and not all of them have sponsorship deals with the sportspersons. Such instances were pointed out in the aftermath of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s Silver win and now after shuttler PV Sindhu winning her second Olympic media – a Bronze.

One would recall Domino’s Pizza jumping into the opportunity when Mirabai talked about her craving for pizza after her Olympic win. The pizza brand, in what was dubbed a ‘moment marketing coup’, quickly announced on social media that it would offer free pizzas to the weightlifter for lifetime, and also delivered pizzas to her home in Manipur.

But soon there were also voices raised over Mirabai’s rights as an athlete to secure deals with brands. Domino’s has now entered into a digital activation partnership with Mirabai.

#Amul Topical: First Indian woman to win two Olympic medals! pic.twitter.com/ZNVYyYI7XN

— Amul.coop (@Amul_Coop) August 2, 2021

In Sindhu’s case, too, a plethora of brands like Amul, Happydent, Vicks, Aditya Birla Group, among others, took to social media to congratulate the player and create communication around themselves. Amul was one of the first brands to congratulate the player with a copy that stated: “PV Windhu, Amul for brains and bronze”. In fact, Amul has been the king of moment marketing for decades, with its ads capturing every important event, victory, obituary, personality through the presence of its polka-dot dress wearing mascot.

If brands are using the face and name of an athlete in their communication, shouldn’t the athlete also get a share of the returns. A valid sponsorship deal is a win-win for both brands and sportspersons. But when brands piggyback on an athlete’s success and seek to gain from the moment for free – that’s when issues are raised. Such instances have been dubbed as ‘Newsjacking’, when brands move to leverage a current hot news topic and hijack the moment to own it by inserting their brand message without spending any money.

As pointed out by Charu Raizada, Communication Consultant, “This extension of moment marketing is not a new phenomenon, brands like Amul and Oreo have been acing this game long before others even acknowledged its potential.”

While approaching newsjacking, it is crucial for brands to tread slowly into unknown waters and not jump on the bandwagon just because they don’t want to miss out. According to Raizada, it all depended on the brand’s appetite to take calculated risks. “If done hastily, newsjacking can end up tarnishing the brand’s image for incorrect research and taking misinformed stances on issues,” she cautioned.

Brands and businesses are now waking up to the power of listening. Now, combining that with the ability to spot an opportunity – literally on the go – and creative thinking, brands can have a winning formula. At the same time, Raizada warned, “A word of caution here – it’s important to pause and assess if the news item is positive or appealing, and not likely to stir a controversy.”

On the other hand, Chandramouli Nilakantan, CEO, TRA Research and Blue Lotus Communications, highlighted the unstated rules in newsjacking, where one must only newsjack the news which is relevant to their brand and ensure that the message fits into their overall brand strategy. He added, “Much like moment marketing, newsjacking can also backfire, so one must err on the side of caution.”

Raizada was of the opinion that there was nothing wrong in piggybacking off popular trends. “It’s an art, which if not done with honest intentions, it could lead to a hall of shame. Especially with a limited time window to make their mark, brands have dedicated teams who are cognizant of this fact and ensure they don’t lose out on any opportunities.”

For Chandramouli, good newsjacking is a gut feel thing. It can only happen after years of communication expertise, when it feels in the gut that this is the right circumstance to newsjack. He added, “Rarely can a research be done due to the paucity of time. This is where the importance of a good, experienced, empathetic and sensitive communication partner shows through.”

With the users on the Internet constantly battling whether newsjacking merits quick-minded research or gut feel, industry experts have their own take as well. They stick to the fact that as long as the brand’s copy is relevant and credible there is very little that can go wrong. Brands should understand that there is merit in pre-empting possible questions which could be raised and adapting accordingly. In simple words, stay away from religion, disaster, and destruction.

On whether brands can gain leverage without being at the receiving end of trolls, Chandramouli was of the opinion that every possible brand communication will have its naysayers, and a brand could find itself at the crossroads without ever having imagined it. Quoting Machiavelli from ‘The Prince’, Chandramouli said: “‘Principalities that are acquired with ease, are also lost with ease’. It holds true for newsjacking as well.”

As per media reports, Sindhu might take legal recourse against brands that have used her name and photos in their brand communications without authorisation. Interestingly, Amul’s campaigns have always leveraged the moment, but no one has taken any legal action against the brand, nor has the brand ever been accused of newsjacking.

(Edited and Additional Inputs by Shanta Saikia.)