The Kyle Sandilands debate reached new and dizzy heights this week and my business, Jenny Craig, became a much-maligned accomplice. Vitriolic, passionate and persistent Kyle detractors and haters attacked Jenny Craig via social media spaces in Australia and our international operations. The fallout was swift, of landslide proportions and on the Richter scale, at least an eight.
Personally, I couldn’t wait to pit Mel B against Kyle. I couldn’t wait for her to bait him, to score points against him in her own indomitable way and to well and truly put him in his place. She is an awesome talent, as strongly opinionated as he is and charismatic to boot. We were always going to cause controversy with Mel in one corner and Kyle in the other.
Did we make a brave decision, an upfront and challenging marketing decision to support our ambassador Mel B? Do we condone Kyle’s views? No.
But what about the second half of this show, Jackie O? Why do companies advertise? To connect, persuade and influence an audience, I would say, and who, pray tell, make up the Kyle and Jackie O audience? An enormous amount of women, that’s who.
I read the newspaper every day, does that mean I am not intelligent enough to discern what is right and what is wrong? I listen to the radio but that doesn’t mean I condone the comments made, I watch television, sometimes inane television, nonsensical television, but that doesn’t mean I judge the advertisers for the lack of program finesse.
We placed our money on this program because it made commercial sense. Our accusers say this was a publicity stunt, that we capitulated because of public opinion, that we don’t understand women, that my marketing team are dimwits and that no company should support Kyle’s bile.
My supporters say we were brave and controversial. In my heart I know that we made the decision to advertise on 2DayFM because it has the audience numbers, the deal was right, the chemistry between our talent and Kyle would have made electric, compelling radio and because it stacked up on all fronts.
We learnt so much this week, more than anyone could imagine. We now understand that we have an emotionally connected brand, our followers have an expectation that we are trustworthy, honest and that we are sympathetic, empathetic and non-judgemental, and they believe deeply that we understand women, we listen and we act on that insight.
I was flattered to read in a comment placed on a blog today that Jenny Craig is run by an extremely capable, bright and talented woman, and I thank the person for saying that. The truth is that we are one of the best-performing Jenny Craigs in the world.
Why? Because we understand our audience and we make brave marketing decisions. We experiment. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes not. But we try. We aren’t sitting on our hands, we aren’t paralysed with fright. We are courageous. And we are listening. Our job is not to blend in as marketers, it is to explore, challenge and create. If not, then what is the alternative? Beige? I believe we made the right decision in the end, and we learnt that our brand is a living thing that our clients are engaged with in ways we didn’t imagine.
Mel was going to take on Kyle and show him women mean business and being overweight is a major issue we all need to combat. I know who I would have put my money on!
This article first appeared in the January 27 edition of AdNews. Click here to subscribe for more news, features and opinion.
Amy Smith is managing director of Jenny Craig Australia & New Zealand
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