The Ask: Develop a long-term sustainable growth strategy for a brand past their heyday
Background:
In 2014 tumblr was at its peak, receiving more than 100 million posts a day. They were infamously known for being a place of no rules and free from the pretenses of fame and money. A community where individuals could anonymously express their creativity and thoughts through music, writing, photography, art, memes, and more. This success came to a halt in 2016 marking tumblr’s official descent into obscurity. Along with other issues, the site was overrun with adult content driving users and advertisers away. Advertising has always been a topic of contention for tumblr as the founder made his hatred for ads clear and a building block for the original tumblr experience.
tumblr today:
tumblr has since fixed its adult content issue and found a new home with WordPress owner, Automatic, restoring some hope amongst “tumblr era” mavins. tumblr is seeing a slight reemergence, but they aren’t in the clear yet. Where advertising used to be a nuisance is now a necessity in keeping the site operating.
tumblr’s true identity:
tumblr does not see itself as another social media outlet. They see themselves as a website, not a social media platform. A place that is “whatever you want it to be” for self-expression. A “map you all keep making” with a focus on content, not accounts.
tumblr 4 Es Deliverable ︎
tumblr 4 Es Deliverable ︎
What’s keeping users off tumblr now?
Social listening led us to many conversation themes like these:
“I thought they shut down.”
“It seems hard to get into.”
“It has no purpose.”
“I didn’t realize people were still using it.”
tumblr users, past and present, enjoy two main aspects of the site, which also lead to their 2 main disadvantages:
1.
The lack of rules and context. ︎︎︎2.
The rejection of mainstream influence. ︎︎︎1.
2.
Having a tone built around rejecting influence can make the site seem like one big inside joke, unwelcoming to new users. This tone also prevents brands from wanting to advertise in a space with few and unwelcoming users.
The Problem:
What makes tumblr successful, is what prevents it from fostering a space for new users and brand relationships.
But how can a site that is
so against influence have
a “trending” category?
The Realization:
tumblr isn’t actually immune to influence, just influencers.
The Insight:
Influence exists on tumblr in the content itself, not the content’s creator.
Horse Plinko, an example of a content’s influence:
1.
Someone uploads it to tumblr.
2.
Another user sees the GIF and re-uploads it with a twist.
3.
4.
5.
Our Plan:
Step 1: Drive user growth through a campaign that highlights tumblr’s differences.
Who tumblr is (or isn’t) campaign:
Due to the confusion and misunderstandings of tumblr’s identity, we knew we needed to set the record straight and re-introduce the real tumblr. We wanted to showcase how tumblr is different from their competition. But, since tumblr doesn’t see themselves in the “social media” category, like their competition, we decided to focus on all the things tumblr is not.
Inviting the migration:
Many of tumblr’s competitors are also losing users. We saw this as an opportunity to use all the reasons to leave those platforms as reasons to join tumblr.
Yesterday’s memes for today’s users:
Knowing that some people find tumblr intimidating and hard to get into, we wanted to use humor that’s found on tumblr but in a language, non-tumblr users would understand. We used classic viral memes that ideal tumblr users would recognize and appreciate to communicate our invitation.
Anti (insert competitor here) Ads
Wanting to highlight competitors’ weaknesses at the same time as highlighting tumblr’s strengths, we created “anti (insert competitor here)” ads to invade these competitor spaces.
However, we figured that Facebook wouldn’t take kindly to anti-Facebook ads on their own platform so we used each platform to show the weaknesses of their competitors as well.
However, we figured that Facebook wouldn’t take kindly to anti-Facebook ads on their own platform so we used each platform to show the weaknesses of their competitors as well.
This is an anti-Facebook ad that would live on X.
Since Facebook is used by all age groups and family members, we are exposed to their various opinions more often than we would like. tumblr is not a site that typically cultivates these themes.
Here is an anti-X ad that would live on Facebook.
Sites like Twitter, now X, are known for their length-limiting restraints on posts, unlike tumblr, where you can post your quick thoughts that still might be a little longer than 280 characters.
Step 2: Redefine “influence” for brand connection.
Brands can advertise successfully on tumblr but they’ll need to be able to surrender to tumblr culture. Having a team within tumblr dedicated to this culture and engagement can help brands stay on top and participate in emerging and evolving trends.
Example: Horse Pringle
Instead of making ads that exist amongst the content, the ads can become the content themselves.
We’ve seen on Twitter, now X, how excited users get when brands not only join the trending conversations but join in the same tone. Making the brand seem less corporate and more human, speaking with the user rather than at them.
How we got here:
Having somehow missed my tumblr phase, one of the first things I did was create an account to get acclimated with the website. To catch up on what I missed I read articles about tumblr’s success and their users, written during tumbler’s peak and after. I also talked to people who were active users during tumblr’s peak and people who have an active account today. As a group, we did social listening, and read blogs and forums to get an understanding of the culture around social media today, the fatigue, and the disappointment. We also broke down why users were interested in having social media to begin with as well as their relationship with influence versus entertainment.
Having somehow missed my tumblr phase, one of the first things I did was create an account to get acclimated with the website. To catch up on what I missed I read articles about tumblr’s success and their users, written during tumbler’s peak and after. I also talked to people who were active users during tumblr’s peak and people who have an active account today. As a group, we did social listening, and read blogs and forums to get an understanding of the culture around social media today, the fatigue, and the disappointment. We also broke down why users were interested in having social media to begin with as well as their relationship with influence versus entertainment.
Team:
Kate Coleman (ST)
Abi Diallo (ST)
Shoshana Cohen (ST)
Kate Coleman (ST)
Abi Diallo (ST)
Shoshana Cohen (ST)
