“It’s an art, honestly. When you see a great comment, you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s really smart.’ And when it’s cringe, it’s really cringe,” Silverstein pointed out.
Taking calculated risks
Murray and Silverstein also talked about how brands need to take some risks, specifically with content creators, to stand out in a crowded content landscape. For Murray and General Mills, they have a “SWAT cross-functional team” to assess any campaign that might seem risky.
“It’s got legal, brand management, corporate comms, reputation folks, social folks, and we do a very honest assessment. We ask, ‘What’s the risk of this? What’s the reward of this? If something goes south, what’s our quick action?’” Murray explained.
Silverstein thinks calculated risks are worth it, though.
“I don’t think that audiences are rewarding brands for being boring,” she said. “What’s breaking through is often unexpected, and there’s some degree of risk when you’re jumping into something unexpected.”
