It's hard to imagine that you haven't heard of Oatly. Possibly the worlds most loved, and hated, dairy milk replacement brand. Not to mention their fetish for insane outdoor advertising poster campaigns.

Oatly just launched a new site called FckOatly*, and frankly, it's a tiny masterclass in impact marketing.

Image source: FckOatly.

In their "Time machine of all things bad about an oat drink company", they deliver stories about some of the most egregious screw ups they have made along their journey. They proudly leave room for the next one too. Perfect marketing fodder to embrace their haters, but also, a classy and counter intuitive way of saying "hey, we're human, we're not perfect, but we do listen and take action". 

I can't name any company that's even close to perfect, but I have a lot of time for this kind of accountability. I rarely drink milk, but I'll be picking up a carton of Oatly next time I need some, because more of this please!

⚡ This act of recognising something that isn't right and taking responsibility for it, is key to making business better. We all have to start somewhere, and this kind of honesty and love builds trust. 

On trying to think of another brand that really takes on their haters with so much love, and I can't help but think of Marmite who have been honestly proclaiming "Love it or Hate it" (and variations thereof) since 1996. Is there anyone else doing it even half as well?

❓I'm genuinely curious, how does, or might, your company embrace loving your haters? Let's talk about it!

Footnote* Make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page, there's a little easter egg hiding under the pop up cookie banner. No spoilers from me, have fun... 🐰🕳️

PS. You might like to know, there's zero tracking on this page. I have no idea who or how many people are reading it. If you have read it, I'd love to hear your perspective. Will you drop me a comment on whichever platform you saw it? LinkedIn Post & Twitter Post