Brands fret as negative influencers rise, pushed toward credibility

The march of the de-influencers, or reverse influencers, is getting stronger and noisier. As the name suggests, these are people who post negative reviews of branded products on social media for consumers' benefit, potentially hitting companies' sales.

Despite the potential consequences of calling out big brands publicly, people like Adithya Nataraj (alias learnwithadithya), Deepak Thakran (deepakthkranfitness), Darshit Singh (darshitoncam), and Revant Himatsingka (Foodpharmer), continue to stick their necks out. And their tribe is increasing.

Experts say the industry is set to see a spike in both critical reviews as well as regulations aimed at keeping claims made by brands in check, as consumers increasingly switch to branded products.

Companies don't like it one bit, and have taken recourse to legal action several times. And regulators are tightening guidelines for both products and also to ensure that negative reviews are unbiased.

But consumers are loving it.

Driving engagement

A study by influencer marketing and intelligence platform Qoruz revealed that de-influencing trends drive 66.17% more engagement than content from regular influencers. The report also highlighted that the higher consumption of “critical" and “alternative content" is suggestive of the audience's craving for authenticity and transparency in influencer communications.

“De-influencers call out products that don't live up to the hype, and people love them for that honesty," said Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, chief executive officer of Qoruz, adding that this trend is a game-changer for brands.

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Shankar Prasad, founder of Plum Goodness, which sells beauty and skin care products, said that there's no substitute to transparency, consistency across touch-points and, over time, humility and openness to suggestions. “Hence, no matter where the feedback comes from, the brand is clear about what the right thing to do is," he said.

Another executive at a larger packaged foods company, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said influencers' growth poses a challenge to companies and can threaten businesses; however, companies have to learn better to deal with them. He said they also need to ensure transparency with their labelling and nutrition information.

According to Qoruz's Bhuvaneswar, brands have started to realise that consumers want transparency, and some brands are already tweaking their messages, redesigning packaging, and even changing up their products to better meet new expectations. “It's not just about selling anymore, it's about building trust and having genuine conversations with customers," he said.

Who's doing what

Darshit Singh, a Gurugram-based food de-influencer who has over 27,500 followers on his Instagram handle @darshitoncam, has gained the trust of an audience that takes his recommendations seriously.

“If I am recommending something, a lot of people believe me, so a lot of brands want to take the risk of collaborating with me even if they know that I will be honest in my review," he said, adding that he is often subject to hate comments online and has also faced threats to take down posts.

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Singh has a day job as a content marketing executive, and so is able to pursues his social media career of reviewing popular food joints for their hygiene, quality and taste as a side gig, without being worried about earning money from it.

Nataraj and Thakran create health and fitness-related content, highlighting “what is wrong" with packaged products based on the ingredients on the back of their labels.

Mint's queries to Nataraj and Thakran did not receive a response till press time.

Companies' displeasure

In the past, companies such as Mamaearth, Dabur India and Mondelez, have sent legal notices to influencers to take posts that were critical of their products. Queries sent to Mamaearth, Dabur and Mondelez went unanswered till press time.

Then, last year, Mondelez took legal action against health content-related de-influencer Revant Himatsingka alias Foodpharmer, who boasts 2.7 million followers on Instagram. Himatsingka's post against Bournvita, the company's health food drink brand, went viral, but he suspended the video after receiving a legal notice from Mondelez.

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“Earlier, I would delete my video when companies used to send me legal notices," Himatsingka, who has received six legal notices so far, told Mint. “Now, I try to fight back as I understand they don't have factual grounds and are only trying to shut me up... I just want brands to be scared as well."

Mondelez eventually dismissed claims made by Himatsingka. Email queries sent to the company remained unanswered. While it's hard to ascertain whether Himatsingka's posts had a bearing on sales of health food drinks, over the past year, different regulators have taken action to curb sales of the "health drinks" category.

Balancing the playing field

On 10 April, the commerce and industry ministry's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) advised e-commerce platforms to remove drinks and beverages categorized as health drinks from their platforms, citing a lack of standards and definition of health drinks under India's food laws.

meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Council of India, an advertising watchdog, is of the view that influencers who speak of health or financial benefits should disclose their qualifications. In effect, ASCI, too, wants to keep a tab on the quality of information being circulated online and ensure claims made by individuals are fair and unbiased.

“Influencers, whether promoting or dissuading consumers about products, must adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truthfulness," said Manisha Kapoor, secretary general of ASCI. “Any claims made should be factually correct and substantiated."

Kapoor added that an influencer paid to speak against a competitor's brand could constitute a potential violation of the ASCI Code, especially if it is done without adequate disclosures and makes statements that are disparaging.

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“Ensuring transparency and integrity in influencer marketing is crucial for maintaining consumer trust," she said. "In addition, influencers who speak of health or financial benefits are required to disclose their qualifications."

Marketing experts are of the view that regulatory action and content created by de-influencers run parallelly as regulators and industry bodies toughen their stand on packaged consumer goods companies.

“The regulators’ moves are actually hand in glove as there is increased visibility among consumers after de-influencers highlight things that these brands are doing, and because there is heightened awareness, these regulators have to take action," said Karthik Iyer, a marketing consultant.