Issue 1: All together now

On buzzy ads, rabid communities and a new feature: job posts!

Welcome to the “out of beta” version of The Boilerplate. Let’s get to it!

1. Old brands, new conversations: Group chats across the nation this week lit up with an unusual creative from Match.com, featuring Ryan Reynolds as Satan hooking up with the year 2020 for a match made in hell. The ad is funny, sure - if not a little too on the nose. But what’s interesting is that it’s from a 25-year-old band (yes, Match.com was founded in 1995!) trying to manufacture some relevance with the help of Van Wilder in a prosthetic chin. But… why? Sure, dating app usage has gone up in the pandemic, but I would guess it’s The Match Group’s younger, hipper brands - OK Cupid, Tinder - that would get the “action,” so to speak, not Match.com. Are people really interested in finding their quarantine life partner? Maybe that isn’t the point of going the “good” kind of viral in 2020. Perhaps Match just wants to remind anyone old enough to have watched Green Lantern or Deadpool in theaters that they’re still, LOL, around.

   And the ad wasn’t unlike another “older” brand making a splash lately - Salesforce buying Slack is quite the shakeup - and something to watch in the Cloud War era. Maybe it’s only a matter of time until Salesforce gets into the edgy viral ad game!

2. The pros and cons of Community (with a big C). Every company wants to build authentic advocates within its customers. After all, happy customers tell others about their good experiences - while unhappy customers are 89 percent more likely to tell others about their terrible experiences. Add an online element where customers can find each other and rant/rave about their points of view and you can either have brand nirvana or a burdening churn problem. That’s why I’m so fascinated by die-hard fitness communities: People Who Count Macros, Acro Yoga People, Crossfitters, Blogilates Enthusiasts, #OTFers and of course, Peloton Facebook Groups. Peloton is especially fascinating; they encourage social posting and discussion between members, members and instructors - and yet don’t seem to have a clear Peloton >< Customer channel. As a member, I’ve seen people complain about late deliveries (myself included), wonder aloud at the sudden disappearance of a beloved instructor and say some pretty awful things about Beyonce (I’m not even going to link to the straight up racism). I’m month No. 2 with my Treadmill and it’s hard not to feel gleeful, like I’m part of something ~bigger~ in a live class. But boy, is there vitriol in those groups, and no one seems equipped to handle the ick: not Facebook, not the companies that host groups and hashtags on the platform and people themselves. One has to wonder: are we really that rotten to the core, as people, that online groups dedicated to working out turn into cesspools? No one has the answer to that question, yet, though OneZero has a nice meditation on the question. But in the meantime, perhaps we make everyone with internet access take an online etiquette course before they’re able to post. Or, we should just make everyone listen to that This American Life episode where writer Lindy West confronts one of her most cruel trolls on the phone.

3. New year, new role: Looking to start 2021 with something different? I saw these great looking roles in my own network, and share for those who need a little career inspo.

   • Senior Manager, Internal & Corporate Communications, Poshmark

   • Senior Communications Manager, Corporate Communications, LinkedIn

   • Public Relations Account Executive, Inkhouse

Have any ideas for a future issue, any opinions you want to share as a business communicator, or a cool job to share? Respond to this email and I’d be happy to share.

And, happy eggnog, jelly donut and bibingka season! Enjoy this cat, who has clearly mastered the holidays. See you in two weeks!