This is not how you should indulge in a brand war (Example)
It's been a hot minute since we witnessed a good old-fashioned brand war, right? Well, buckle up, because I've got a juicy one for you involving two heavyweights in the payment game: Paytm and Pine Labs.
So, Paytm found itself in a bit of a pickle with the RBI, facing some serious scrutiny that could potentially lead to a ban (yes, you heard that right, do your own fact check). To salvage their rep and reassure both merchants and customers, they decided to go big. How big? Well, they slapped an ad right on the front page of one of India's biggest newspapers, boldly declaring that their machines and QR codes are here to stay, ban or no ban.
Now, here's where things get spicy. While I was scrolling through X (formerly known as Twitter), I stumbled upon a clever little jab from Pine Labs. Their ad on the explore page hit Paytm right where it hurts, proclaiming, "You can buy the first page of a newspaper, but you can't buy trust." Ouch, talk about a burn!
Now, here's my take. Should Pine Labs have kicked their competitor while they were down? Personally, I'm not feeling it. It comes off a tad aggressive, and it kinda gives off the vibe that they're not exactly rooting for the home team. Sure, it might make a few small business owners think twice about their POS machine choices, but at what cost?
And let's not forget the irony of Pine Labs calling out a paid ad with... you guessed it, another paid ad. The X community wasn't too thrilled about that one, judging by the replies on the promo hashtag.
In the end, this brand war didn't exactly tickle my funny bone. It felt like it was lacking in empathy and ended up boomeranging back on both parties.
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