Case Study: Nutter Butter’s TikTok, a Stroke of Genius or Insanity?
Communications agencies are all too familiar with a PR stunt: a carefully planned event or action that aims to generate media attention and public interest for the brand. Examples include Airbnb’s real-life Barbie Dreamhouse in Malibu, CA, and the strange rise in popularity of McDonald’s Grimace character. Brands use these opportunities to attract a crowd and capitalize on trends.
However, they’re called “stunts” for a reason. PR stunts are risky, bold, and can even be dangerous to a brand’s reputation. So, when considering whether or not your brand should do a PR stunt, think about these three factors of your brand:
- Image
- Audience
- Impact
You want to ensure that the stunt will boost your brand’s image, resonate with your target audience, and leave a lasting, positive impact. Let’s take a look at the brand Nutter Butter and analyze its most recent PR stunt with these three factors in mind.
If you scroll through Nutter Butter’s TikTok, you might think its account was hacked by a middle school tweenager looking to cause some serious brand damage. Disturbing and distorted videos of Nutter Butter snacks bombard its social media channels, leaving users confused and social media pros scratching their heads. While this content may seem completely unhinged, it’s actually a PR stunt.
Brand Image
Nutter Butter’s posts are generating over millions of views each, with other brands like Sour Patch Kids and Subway flooding the comments. Attention = checked! By posting these bizarre videos, they have drawn the attention not only of consumers, but of other brands as well.. This is simultaneously bringing them more traffic while boosting their image as a brand powerhouse.
Brand Audience
A look into the comments section reveals a desire to buy the product: “I’ve been influenced I will be purchasing Nutter Butter cookies tomorrow,” reads one comment with over 45,000 likes.
Another UGC video reveals a new insight into their strategy. Someone shared that when they showed one of the videos to their middle school daughter, she said, “This is what the inside of my brain looks like.” Disturbing? Yes. But as a cookie company, their large demographic is children! So, these strange videos are actually appealing to their target audience while attracting attention from the rest of the world.
Brand Impact
However, some viewers have found Nutter Butter’s content concerning and believe the company is promoting conspiracy theories. Many comments show users asking if Nutter Butter is ok. Other brands are commenting with their own surprised reactions, unsure of how to react. Nutter Butter’ is presenting an entirely different brand personality through these videos,, and it may take time and effort to reverse that image.. The stunt may have brought the brand higher engagement online, but only time will tell how it translates into sales and affects the brand’s lasting identity.
So, when deciding whether or not your brand should do a PR stunt, consider the following:
- How will it affect your brand image?
- How will your target audience react?
- How will this impact your brand in the long run?