Justin Chimenti, accused the two chains for defrauding customers with ads that make their burgers appear larger than they really are. The plaintiff claims that both fast food They often photograph undercooked meat in their ads to make their burgers look 15% to 20% larger.
The suit was made public weeks after Burger King also received similar claims because the advertisements for his iconic Whopper did not match reality.
Beyond how this story unfolds, it is interesting to analyze the signs that show how the bonds of trust between consumers and brands are becoming weaker. Let us begin.
First sign. Although it is not new that this necessary but complex relationship has been going through ups and downs for a long time, the pandemic accelerated changes that modified it even more. In fact, the digitization of the routines that we inherit has led to the emergence of an increasingly informed and aware consumer but, at the same time, less patient and more demanding when it comes to brands fulfilling their promises. In short, an empowered consumer who, when his expectations are not met, makes companies feel his overwhelming weight through social networks.
Second signal. In a world like the one we live in today, hyper-digitalized, before consuming a product or service, users carry out a behavior of discovery in social networks, search insights in your environment to know what is said or thought about a brand and how reliable and truthful its value proposition is. These hunter users they are increasingly trained to detect stories or real experiences that they then compare with the brand promise in a clear demand for coherence between what is said to be done and what is actually done.
Third sign. The point here is that brands must understand that today consumers buy less but better, so as the specialist in branding, Andy Stalman, “shopping has become an act of love”. This necessarily implies a relationship where brands want to be loved and consumers want to be deceived.
All of the above occurs in a context of general loss of trust and communication becomes the key tool to build it genuinely.
In short, a transparent discourse that always bears in mind the purpose of the organization is what will allow brands to reconnect with their audiences, with the people and what they are experiencing here and now. That’s him match perfect for consistency. How to sustain it over time will be the subject of a future column.