Imperfect branding is trending, but 99.99% of people don’t know what it is. Brands like Barbie, Ryanair, and Daniela Salcedo are capitalizing on it.
The reason why no one knows about it is because I just made up the term 😂
But wait, don’t miss this post; the trend is real, there’s just not an official name for it apart from the one I just gave it.
What is Imperfect Branding?
Imperfect branding is how companies accept and showcase their mistakes, vulnerabilities, and imperfections and embrace them as part of their branding.
Brands like Barbie, Ryanair, and closer to home – Daniela Salcedo – use imperfect branding to generate incredible results 💸
The audience loves it because, with increasing technological innovations, AI, the Metaverse, etc., consumers crave more human brands.
Imperfect branding departs from the ideals of perfection and focuses on authenticity and the human touch.
By showing the human side of a brand, customers tend to trust it and become loyal to it because of its transparency.
These 3 examples of Imperfect Branding prove this:
1.Barbie
In the movie, Barbie is not perfect.
She’s insecure, she makes mistakes, and she has to learn to embrace her flaws.
This challenges the traditional Barbie brand, which often shows Barbie as a perfect and unattainable ideal.
Also, the movie openly shows how Mattel made many mistakes over the years as a company, affecting its sales negatively.
This phrase to promote the film became popular on Twitter / X:
“If you love Barbie, this movie is for you. If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you”.
In this sentence, they admit the reality, allowing them to reach a larger audience and find an opportunity to change the negative narrative of the past.
And they achieved it: The movie brought close to $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, making Barbie the biggest film of 2023.
2.Ryanair
The ultra-low-cost Irish airline has a strategy of using complaints as inspiration for creating TikTok content.
They humorously and openly show their imperfections and vulnerabilities.
Ryanair‘s message is clear: An airline just focused on transporting customers from one place to another, nothing else. No scenic or comfortable seats and no baggage or food included.
Their TikTok bio gets straight to the point: “Catch flights, not feelings.”
They benefit from imperfect branding by clearly communicating that their customers don’t pay for a flight experience but only for the flight itself.
This way, customers may lower their expectations in line with what they pay for a ticket (around £9.99).
The result: To this date, Ryanair has 2.1 million followers on TikTok.
According to a report by Keyhole, Ryanair saw a 45% increase in month-over-month views and a 10% increase in bookings from TikTok users.
By being open about their flaws, Ryanair connects with customers on a deeper level.
This has led to increased sales and a more positive brand reputation.
3.Daniela Salcedo
The Colombian jewelry designer mentioned in interviews how she found symmetrical and “perfect” jewelry BORING.
So, she introduced a twist, creating asymmetrical and imperfect -more human-like jewelry.
Not only her jewelry is imperfect, but also the display where she showcases it.
Daniela Salcedo uses everyday elements to present her products by placing rings on an egg or a clothes hanger.
Through her Instagram content, this strategy creates memorability by connecting her jewelry with everyday items like food, as mentioned in the book “Contagious.”
The result: Daniela Salcedo is a go-to choice for A-list celebrities, including Rosalía and Jessica Alba.
Their endorsement has solidified its status as a trendsetter in the fashion world.
