🔀 When Brands Act Against Type: Intuit & Shell & Balenciaga
After a while brands develop a type. A set of expected actions or directions. Acting against type usually draws more attention to brands than keeping on with the status quo. (When was the last time Coca-Cola generated headlines beyond vanity news?)
Of course, this isn't always a good thing. The breakout actions come in three flavors: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
Shell (the oil company) bought an electric vehicle charging station company, Volta. Oil companies have a (not undeserved) less-than-friendly to the climate reputation. This kind of activity can only come if Shell views itself as an energy company and not just an oil company.
Maybe soon actions like this will be "on brand" for the company.
The Bad
Mailchimp got hacked...again. The first time, crypto related accounts were the primary target. This time around, WooCommerce got hit (not sure what other accounts were impacted).
Clearly getting hacked is no longer acting against type for Mailchimp. In fact, it now has a specific type of attack it is susceptible to. The problem is that Mailchimp is owned by Intuit, the owner of products like QuickBooks and TurboTax.
Let's hope hacks like these are against type for the parent company and sibling brands.
The Ugly
Balenciaga's facepalm of a holiday campaign featuring bondage bears and children and child porn court docs.