Dear Readers, it’s been a while since our last edition of One Plus One Equals Three – a lot has happened in our sector and much more is on its way with the looming New Zealand election: The battle of the Chrises.
While our two main parties are putting off announcing crucial policies, and fighting over who will transform (or topple) transport initiatives, Kiwis are crying out for an answer to the cost of living crisis and a plan to curb our increasingly volatile climate. The Greens have called Labour’s latest policy announcement “visionless” and “nonsensical”, whilst Act’s Transport spokesperson called it a “costly wishlist”. Our Managing Director, Kelly Bennett, penned this industry piece recently that shines a spotlight on the ethics of political misinformation.
Everyone is tweeting about Threads and X
Another battle that recently caught our attention is one that can only be found in the land of the internet and on social media: Musk vs. Zuckerberg. The fascinating but timely launch of Meta’s Threads and Elon Musk’s audacious Twitter rebrand. What does it all mean, and should we really care?
I’m sure you’re all aware by now about Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover a few months ago? The record breaking USD$44 billion deal was soon followed by thousands of Twitter employees being laid off by their new boss and eventually a massive drop in Twitter’s shares.
Mark Zuckerberg took advantage of Musk’s erratic leadership and behaviour and launched his own social media platform to rival Twitter: Threads. Threads gained subscribers en masse as the Meta founder cleverly linked Instagram users seamlessly to the new platform. All 2.5 billion of them were able to join with a few simple clicks, although not all users signed up. Still, an impressive 120 million users have joined to date and amongst them some of the world’s biggest celebrities, whilst the new app was boldly dubbed the Twitter Killer.
Musk, after threatening to take legal action against Meta for trade secret theft, quickly announced a rebrand of Twitter. What some claimed was an attempt to avert eyes from its new rival, others were outraged by the now replaced iconic bird logo for a simple “X”. As Daniel Etherington (TechCrunch) so bluntly stated, “It’s trash.”
Another one bites the Musk
Tesla’s positional change on advertising had many questioning the state that another one of Musk’s companies was in. One Plus One’s very own Max Burt weighed in on the conversation highlighting the original success that Musk had with Tesla and its $0 advertising spend, eventually coming down to one key insight: the value of effective and sustained PR.
Max dissects this further by looking to Bob Hoffman, an internationally recognised advertising expert and author, who argues that one of the greatest advantages you can have in business is fame. This is done through one of three ways: have a great product, great PR, or pay for it through advertising. A combination of the three is invariably the most effective approach.
But the story doesn’t end there. Not long after Tesla’s first advertising campaign, three owners in California filed a lawsuit against the company for false advertising. The trio claim that Tesla exaggerated the EV car’s range in a recent report. It is speculated that the lawsuit may get a class action status, and if it does, it would cover all people in California who bought a Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model X or Model Y. It looks like Musk may need to up his PR and advertising spend, afterall.
Watch out for the Big Grrrls
Perhaps someone most in need of good PR right now is singer and performer Lizzo. Last week the self proclaimed big girl mega star was accused of religious, racial and sexual harassment, assault and false imprisonment, and disability discrimination by three of her dancers. Although some would say innocent before proven guilty, cancel culture has already begun to sink its teeth into the singer, and Lizzo’s thousands of fans have begun to unfollow her. Even Beyonce, who is currently on her global Renaissance tour, cancelled all of Lizzo’s special performances with her.
Some may argue Lizzo’s saving grace right now is that the singer has a lot of social capital in the bank from years of good deeds and great PR. As the next few months unfold, it’ll be interesting to see if that can see her through unscathed (assuming the results of the court case are favourable, of course).
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Looking closer to home, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – a first for the Asia Pacific region – plays on, and many of us are surprised at how suddenly mainstream it has become. Stuff’s James Robson takes a look at why this is breaking it down to three main changes: better teams, more investment, better format. However, you could also say more exposure and good PR has made all the difference.
While FIFA has shown its full support by emphasising the importance of its women players, it’s undeniable the $1 billion investment has done wonders for the sport. As FIFA’s head of women’s football Sarai Bareman said, “You can’t underestimate the power of a World Cup to influence decision makers.”
