What The Traitors can teach us about brand trust

As the next season of The Traitors approaches, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the drama of last season. If you arrive late to the party, the contestants will arrive at the castle and find out if they will play as ‘Loyal’ or ‘Traitor’. The task of the faithful is to identify the traitors in the group and expel them before the end of the game. The Traitors aim to remain undetected and avoid exile. B2B marketing is no party game, but a hit TV show can teach us a thing or two about brand trust.

In The Traitors, contestants are forced into a zero-sum mindset where one person’s gain is another’s loss. A culture of mistrust occurs throughout the series, and other contestants are gradually “murdered” or banished as they are labeled as Traitors. The business world can also be a zero-sum game – but is going on the attack like the Traitors the answer?

When facts are not facts

Throughout the series, the Faithfuls use “facts,” observing changes in behavior and analyzing the words people use to make the case that a certain individual is a traitor. In the last series, Paul successfully set up the faithful to kick out two of his fellow Traitors as a pantomime villain. The team often gets it wrong and “murders” the innocent Faithful.

This raises the interesting question of when facts are really facts. For example, many businesses weave corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies into their communications to demonstrate their commitment to ethical and responsible practices, all in the name of trust and brand appeal.

But are these commitments to sustainable ethical practices real? How can we be sure there is substance behind these initiatives? We’ve all heard the phrase “greenwashing”. Not only is this practice deceptive, but it also reduces the company’s trust in the green label. The Faithfuls got it wrong, as did the big brands.

Remember, you don’t need to claim to be a sustainability leader if you’re not an expert on the subject. Instead, share with customers your journey, the challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve progressed. It could be something like mounting solar panels on your roof. This step-by-step approach is much more genuine and effective than launching big company “missions” that involve promises you’re not sure you can keep.

Don’t go with the flow

In almost every episode we’ve seen a form of round table consensus on who to kick out based on sketchy “facts”. Worse, sometimes “facts” were presented that disproved the person the collective voted for, but once the name was spoken, the group wouldn’t budge from it. Remember when Jasmine was banished because of her closeness to Ross, the traitor?

There is an important lesson here. Even if a big brand dominates the conversation, smaller businesses shouldn’t be afraid to come up with something new—whether it’s a new product, campaign, or something else. Staying safe and aligning with the status quo will not necessarily improve brand trust in the long term.

Focus on finding your voice. In cooperation with experts — or technical PR specialists – you can find the tone of your company and start developing your messages in a way that brings you closer to your audience. It’s easy to get caught up in the generic narrative, but carving out your niche and staying true to your brand’s character will take you much further in the trust game. For example, it may seem necessary to take a stance on trends such as AI, machine learning and their place in the workplace. But if you don’t feel like it, don’t jump on the bandwagon because everyone else is talking about it – your audience will know if you’re authentic or not.

So what can brands learn from The Traitors? Quite a lot. It teaches us that not every fact is a fact and that what we see as truth can be deceptive. In addition, it shows the pitfalls of herd mentality and why it doesn’t always pay to stick with the group. Set yourself apart with a killer tech PR campaign and raise your voice at the big wooden table.

• Martin Deakin is an account manager at the company technical PR agency Stone crossroads. To stay up to date with the latest theory and practice in tech PR, subscribe to Stone Junction’s podcast, The Junction Box, at Apple Music, Spotify or wherever you want to get your podcasts today.

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Labels: AI, audience, campaigns, confidence