It was roughly 2.5 years ago, I believe. I was running my Special Topics in Marketing class with senior year students. I remember bringing this news to the class with so much enthusiasm because I knew it would stir the pot. A company in the era of social media deciding to quit social media... Of course it caused a big debate in my class where I teach to Gen Z :) Some was happy about the decision and some did not agree with this bold decision from Lush.
What did the company said for the reasoning behind: "We are tired of fighting algorithms and we do not want to pay to appear in your newsfeed." Can we blame them for their decision? I do not. Prior to quitting LUSH UK had 570,000 followers on Instagram, 200,000 Twitter and 400,000 Facebook followers. Quite a number to let go of. From a brand perspective, you must applaud this. Look at the associations that the brand is known for:
ethical, sustainable, cruelty-free, vegetarian, handmade
I mean you must see the correlation here. They decided to focus on more face-to-face, in-store interactions, influencer marketing rather than doing all digital. Of course COVID-19 hit the beauty industry hard and they lost some of their stores. But now that we are embracing the new normal, the company decided to focus on re-engage events and hoping to expand its sales across the globe. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and take the decision that might seem weird at the moment. You might be surprised by the results.