Let’s be honest: there’s more than one way to make sure people know your brand, and not all of them are good. Some brands seem to take a shortcut by building awareness in all the wrong ways. Maybe they think that any publicity is good publicity, or maybe they just don’t care how they’re perceived.
Either way, these tactics might get people talking – just not in the way you'd want them to. Here’s a look at some sneaky strategies brands use that end up giving them a bad reputation.
1. Spam Everything, Everywhere
Nothing screams “we’re desperate for attention” more than spamming every possible platform with your brand. Whether it’s social media, email, or even physical spaces like posters or stickers, flooding every available channel with your brand name is one way to get noticed – just not in the right way.
- Example 1: Ever follow a brand on Instagram and suddenly your feed is bombarded with their posts every few hours? They’re always pushing the same content over and over until you’re either annoyed enough to unfollow them or start to hate their name.
- Example 2: Some brands go a step further by spamming your inbox with constant sales emails. They don’t care if you unsubscribed or marked them as spam – they’ll find a way to keep showing up. It’s like they’re training you to associate their name with the irritation of cleaning out your inbox.
- Example 3: Physical spam works too. Stickers slapped on every street sign, flyers under your windshield wipers, posters taped to every lamp post. Sure, you see the brand’s name everywhere, but all it does is make people see them as an eyesore rather than a legit brand.
This kind of overexposure might build awareness, but it builds resentment faster. People might remember your brand, but it’s for all the wrong reasons.
To encourage customers to buy from you, you must create a distinct personality for your brand. Everything about your business - from your brand name and logo to your company's values and how you interact with customers - must reflect this personality.
You should meticulously craft this personality to appeal to your target audience. Consider your target customers; what values and traits would they find appealing? Understanding what clicks with your target audience will help you create a strong and well-defined personality for your brand.
Creating a solid and recognizable personality for your brand will exponentially help you raise brand awareness, increase sales, and reach business success.
2. Be Outrageous (for the Sake of Being Outrageous)
In the quest to stand out, some brands decide that any attention – even negative – is worth it. So they resort to shock tactics, offensive content, or just plain weirdness to get people talking. While this might make them go viral, it’s usually not the kind of attention that leads to trust or loyalty.
- Example 1: Think about brands that intentionally tweet something controversial just to stir the pot. They might tweet an edgy joke or take a political stance they don’t actually care about, all in the hopes of getting people riled up. It gets people talking, sure, but not because they like the brand – they’re usually just arguing over how tone-deaf or cringy the post is.
- Example 2: Shock value ads fall into this category too. Companies that create commercials designed to offend or disturb might grab attention initially, but they’re more likely to be remembered for how gross or insensitive they were rather than anything positive.
- Example 3: Some brands even create intentionally bad products or campaigns just to go viral for being ridiculous. They might release a bizarre flavor, like pickle-flavored cereal, just to get people talking about how awful it is. Sure, it’s memorable, but nobody’s buying it for real – they’re just mocking it.
Being outrageous can generate buzz, but it rarely builds a brand people respect. Instead, it creates a reputation that’s built on controversy, which is never a stable foundation.
3. Copy Everything and Everyone
Why bother with originality when you can just ride on someone else’s success? Some brands go out of their way to imitate their more successful competitors, thinking that copying what works for others will work for them too. The problem is, consumers can spot a copycat from a mile away, and it usually results in people seeing the brand as cheap and untrustworthy.
Example 1: Ever notice how some knock-off brands try to mimic the logo, packaging, and even the name of popular products? They’re hoping that people will mistake their product for the real deal, but most of the time it just makes them look like they’re trying too hard. It’s one thing to be inspired by success – it’s another to blatantly rip it off.
Example 2: On social media, some brands simply steal content that’s trending or repost memes without giving credit. They’ll repackage popular tweets, viral videos, or memes as their own, hoping to gain followers through the work of others. While they might get temporary attention, they’re more likely to be called out for their lack of originality.
Example 3: Some brands even imitate marketing campaigns directly. They see a competitor run a successful campaign and decide to replicate it, often with cheaper production and less thought. The result? Consumers who notice immediately label them as unoriginal and unworthy of attention.
Copycat behavior might make a brand known, but it’s for being the one that couldn’t come up with anything themselves. In the long run, that’s hardly a good reputation to have.
4. Use Clickbait and False Promises
We’ve all clicked on something that seemed too good to be true, only to find out it was just a misleading headline. Some brands lean heavily into this tactic, using clickbait or overpromising to draw people in. They might get clicks or short-term attention, but it usually backfires when people realize they were duped.
Example 1: "This One Weird Trick Will Change Your Life!" or "You Won’t Believe What Happens Next!" – these kinds of clickbait headlines are all over the internet. Brands that use this approach might get more traffic, but it’s low-quality traffic that’s more annoyed than interested once they realize there’s nothing valuable behind the headline.
Example 2: Overpromising is another trick. Some brands will advertise insane discounts or freebies, only for people to click through and find out it’s nowhere near as good as it seemed. For example, promising “70% off everything!” when it’s really just on select clearance items nobody wants. This bait-and-switch tactic leaves people feeling deceived.
Example 3: Fake scarcity and urgency also fall under this. Brands claim something is “selling out fast” or that a deal is “only available for the next hour,” even when it’s not true. People catch on quickly when the “limited time offer” is still there days later, and they start to mistrust everything else the brand says.
Clickbait might work in the short term, but it damages credibility fast. People remember being tricked, and that negative association sticks.
5. Use Fake Social Proof
Social proof – like reviews, testimonials, and follower counts – can make or break a brand’s reputation. Some businesses, eager to build credibility, resort to faking this social proof rather than earning it organically. It’s a tactic that might seem like an easy win, but it quickly unravels and leaves a trail of suspicion.
- Example 1: Brands that buy fake followers on social media to inflate their numbers. At first glance, they look popular, but a closer look reveals that most of the followers are bots or inactive accounts. The worst part is when they get exposed – once it’s clear the following is fake, everything they say becomes suspect.
- Example 2: Fake reviews are another common trick. Companies pay for positive reviews or create accounts to leave glowing feedback on their products. The problem is, fake reviews often sound unnatural or repetitive, and once consumers spot one or two, they’ll doubt every other review the brand has.
- Example 3: Some brands even fake user engagement by creating sock-puppet accounts to comment or like their own posts. It might give the illusion of popularity, but it’s usually easy to spot when the interactions are coming from sketchy accounts with no real history.
Faking social proof can create short-term hype, but it’s built on a house of cards. When it collapses, the brand’s reputation takes a hit that’s hard to recover from.
6. Pretend to Be “Woke” When It’s Convenient
A trend we see more and more is brands jumping on social or political causes, not because they care, but because they see it as a quick way to gain attention. Consumers are increasingly savvy, and they can tell when a brand’s activism is performative rather than genuine. This tactic might earn some points initially, but it usually ends up backfiring.
- Example 1: During Pride Month, plenty of brands suddenly slap rainbows on their logos or release rainbow-themed products – but the rest of the year, they’re nowhere to be found on LGBTQ+ issues. People are quick to call out these brands for “rainbow-washing” – showing support only when it’s trendy.
- Example 2: Similar behavior happens with other causes, like brands that post a single black square for Black Lives Matter but have no track record of supporting racial equality. Consumers see through this kind of hollow activism and often criticize it as being opportunistic.
- Example 3: Some brands even donate to controversial causes behind the scenes while publicly claiming to support the opposite. This double-dealing tends to surface eventually, leading to massive backlash that erodes trust completely.
Pretending to care about causes just for the sake of marketing might get a brand temporary attention, but it also comes with a huge risk. Once exposed as performative, any goodwill they might have earned disappears fast.
So, some of the most common ways brands manage to get their name out there while still shooting themselves in the foot. Sure, these tactics might build awareness, but they’re the kind that leaves people feeling annoyed, mistrustful, or downright cynical about the brand. In the end, any short-term gains are overshadowed by the long-term damage these sneaky strategies cause.
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