* This article is a media “Glossy” article.
Body care LUSH is an activation at the annual business conference “South by Southwest (SXSW)” held recently in Austin, Texas, USA, and only the signature product bath bomb. But it also presents a true bomb about Big Tech.
Lecture by a Facebook whistleblower
At the annual event in Austin, LUSH’s pop-up “LUSH HOUSE” opened March 10 with a focus on “digital divestment.” It highlights LUSH’s 2021 choice to exit the TikTok and Meta-owned social platforms due to ethical concerns.
As part of the activation, LUSH commissioned a research report from UK-based research firm Opinium Research to examine people’s sentiments about ethics, social media and brands.
The pop-up features a series of related talks by LUSH executives and tech activists, including Facebook whistleblower Francis Hogen. Of course, LUSH’s proud bath goods are also on display.
The pop-up “will be a conversation starter,” said Annabelle Baker, global brand director at LUSH, at SXSW, which is heavily attended by the tech industry. He describes the popup and its programming as a “bit of excitement” for Big Tech.
The series of talks, which will take place March 10-13, will conclude on Monday March 13 with a dialogue between Baker and Hogen. The conversation will discuss how to make social media “sustainable, open source, community-governed, iterative, accessible and life-affirming.”
Consumers support decision to withdraw from social media
Consumers want decisions like LUSH did, according to a report by Opinium Research, which surveyed 8,000 U.S. adults between February 13 and 21.
It turns out that 73% of respondents think brands should move away from “unethical” social platforms, and 75% think the same about regular users. When asked what they think of brands that have made the decision to avoid a social presence, “trustworthy” was the top adjective respondents chose, at 24%. Meanwhile, 23% described LUSH as “cut.”
LUSH’s decision to leave a major social platform has been labeled an “anti-social policy.” LUSH joins Bottega Veneta, which left Instagram in 2021, becoming one of a handful of brands that have opted to exit Instagram.
Baker said it was an easy exit because LUSH has never advertised on these platforms. “We weren’t doing paid advertising. We’re not in the position of many other companies who still have to use the platform for advertising.”
LUSH left the platform because it allowed harmful content to spread, and the lack of transparency about how the algorithm works. While most brands have not deleted their accounts, there have been calls for better content moderation on the Meta-owned platform. More than 100 brands will join the Stop Hate for Profit campaign in 2020, suspending advertising on Meta and asking Meta to better manage hate speech. applied pressure.
LUSH Thoughts on Twitter
LUSH hasn’t abandoned all social platforms and is still active on Pinterest and Twitter. Twitter has come under scrutiny after allegedly relaxing its hate speech policy since its acquisition by Elon Musk.
Regarding Twitter, Baker said: “We monitor Twitter.[Most interesting]is to understand its algorithms. How are algorithms developed?”
Judy Lee, Head of Global Brand Experience at Pinterest, will be speaking with Baker about brand communities on social media at LUSH HOUSE on March 13.
The platforms where LUSH survey respondents found the most “trusted” information were Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and YouTube. More than half of the respondents feel that they receive reliable information on Google and Amazon.
Snapchat, Twitter and TikTok tied for last place, with only 23% of respondents saying they provided reliable information. As for TikTok, there was recent news that it was under a national security investigation in the United States, and Twitter has faced a series of turmoil since its acquisition by Mr. Musk.
Twitter, along with Pinterest and WhatsApp, was the platform with the most quitters in the last 12 months, according to the survey results. For each of these three platforms, 12% of respondents said they had stopped using them. A further 26% of users say they use Twitter less than they did 12 months ago. That percentage is 25% of respondents, on par with Reddit’s percentage. Platforms with increased usage were TikTok (51% of respondents), YouTube (44%), BeReal (42%) and Instagram (42%).
“One of the most important things to consider when deciding whether to exit a platform is[the level of]moderation,” Baker said. Transparency is one of LUSH’s demands of the platform. “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Users don’t understand how algorithms really work. Until we have transparency about how algorithms work, it’s going to be very difficult to regulate.” ”.
However, LUSH is still gifting its products to Instagram and TikTok influencers. LUSH’s global PR lead, Karen Huxley, said, “We’re not going to tell the creators who make their living on these platforms what they should or shouldn’t do.”
Activation incorporating the latest technology and music
LUSH is using other forms of tech for its activation at SXSW. At the company’s booth, the company is showcasing a new futuristic floating bath robot with a built-in Bluetooth speaker and connection to a mobile app that can monitor biometric information such as heart rate. There are also VR experiences and motion capture technology animations that transform real actors into CGI characters. According to Baker, it’s similar to the technology used by Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings.” The characters are based on the company’s best-selling bath products and are also displayed in pop-ups.
LUSH, which has deepened the ties between rave culture and beauty at SXSW by incorporating elements of music, will also use the event to launch a collection in collaboration with nightlife party organizer Glitterbox. This includes an apple-scented glitter soap and a disco ball bath bomb. LUSH also held a dance party with Glitterbox on March 13.
Baker said he would consider returning to Meta and TikTok if they make the changes LUSH needs. “If the platform is secure, we will certainly use it.”
[original text]
(Text: LIZ FLORA, Translation: Yoshiko Nue, Editing: Yukako Yamagishi)
Source: BusinessInsider
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