Issue #66: When brands use the offline movement for online content

And has anyone purchased Heineken's newest product??

Hi! I’m writing to you from sunny Portugal this week, where I’m on a little vacation before my life becomes a chaotic blur over the next few weeks. More on that soon, but please enjoy this photo of me before I got a major sunburn from sitting by the pool without sunscreen for a few hours. I guess that’s what happens when you live in NYC and haven’t sat in the sun in six months.

Loves a red and pink color combo.

This week, I’m talking about how being offline can be a highly engaging online performance, and how we’ve seen that lately.

My friend

Becky Hoving

(who writes the amazing publication

so sorry that happened to you

) tagged me in this post about Heineken’s product, ‘The Flipper,’ a phone case that automatically flips over when it hears ‘Cheers!’ (The product name really irks me, but maybe that’s just me?)

It’s intended to limit phone-related distractions when you’re socializing by picking up on the word ‘Cheers’ through voice detection technology. Apparently, there’s a little robotic arm in the phone case that flips the phone over. I really want to see this in person. And honestly, I feel like my phone would flip right off whatever surface it’s sitting on 99% of the time.

But what’s really interesting about the campaign is that Heineken has also launched an associated hashtag, #SocialOffSocials, to encourage people to post about how they’re limiting distractions and getting off of social media.

As Becky put it, it seems like an April Fool’s joke, but it’s not (it was launched on April 7th). Plus, Heineken has released several other tools and devices to limit digital addictions over the years, including a ‘boring phone.’ It’s a little strange coming from a beer brand, but good for them for fighting technological distractions, I guess?

Okay, but back to the hashtag. It’s fascinating to see brands support getting offline and limiting our reliance on technology, but a lot of that discourse also exists in online spaces that encourage digital obsession (social media, mostly).

Yesterday,

Kristin Merrilees

of

PHONE TIME

wrote about how Gen Z’s discourse around getting off of social media, buying dumb phones, and lowering their screen time largely exists on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. As Kristine smartly points out, social media is an obvious, natural space for discourse around the offline movement. It’s a bit naive to think that we won’t discuss wanting to get offline… online. Plus, movements and communities that encourage being offline garner followings and build awareness on social media, which I think is a good thing. Social media can serve as a really positive educational and community-building tool, even around topics like how to be more offline.

The concept of unplugging is ripe for discourse, and it’s clear that audiences want more content around it. So it’s not a big surprise that brands like Heineken are participating in the conversation too.

I do think that brands in the wellness space are particularly well-positioned to have a strong POV on unplugging. Take this social series from Sweetgreen, for instance.

sweetgreen

A post shared by @sweetgreen

I love this so much. The post successfully engages in the offline discourse by showcasing a potato farmer on the farm, thus also connecting Sweetgreen to the source of its newest product, their Ripple Fries. The post has a clear purpose while clearly connecting to our collective desire to all quit our jobs and live on a farm. The series is also a perfect example of how brands have been leaning into high-quality video series for social channels recently.

But when this type of content is coming from brands that don’t have a stake in products related to wellness or the offline movement, it can feel a little inauthentic and even hypocritical to me. But I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the matter! Let me know when you think brands should post content about the offline movement, if at all.

I hope the rest of your week brings you some quality offline time. xx