Camiroaga an immortal brand from the heart of Chile

Chilean population affected by the tragedy. Photo credit: Rodrigo Unda

A Spoonful of Common Sense
by bedulblog
I had the luck to work with Felipe Camiroaga and his team at TVN in several occasions. Some of the brands that I have being working with discovered a big benefit by being associated with someone that inspire so much love, loyalty and credibility in the Chilean population.
With more than 20 years conducting the morning daily show, Matinal Buenos Días a Todos, Felipe was, without discussion, one of most loved public figures in Chile. Why?
We can tell that Felipe is a brand in himself. He developed a career that allowed him to have probably the most exposure on national TV on a daily basis and sometimes more than once a day.
So what? Being with Felipe everyday, 4 hours a day, gave the people the chance to know him more than any other of their friends and relatives. This reminded me of the Truman Show movie. Felipe wasn’t only conducting a TV show, he was on TV sharing his life for 20 years, every day, with all of Chile.  This is what created high rates of credibility: People know him, his good moments and his bad moments. They see him as a human and a loyal friend. They know when he is in love, they know when he goes to vacations, they know when is upset…they know. They watch him everyday.
I’m sure that he knew this, and consciously decided to dedicate his life to entertain and keep company with a big part of the Chilean people.

TV show Buenos Días a Todos, Photo credit: TVN

Felipe Camiroaga is a brand, a unique brand that has achieved the goal that all marketers look for: Win for forever the heart of your audience. And as a brand and a human being, he got immortality.
What can we expect from consumer behaviors, mass media and advertising in regard to Felipe’s legacy?
First, we will start to see hundreds of newborns named Felipe, becoming the most popular name for kids born in the coming year. It’s a way of the middle and lower classes of Chile, 70 percent of the country’s population, to show their love and respect.
Second, without knowing the plans that TVN will have in regard to the TV show, the audience will be completely tolerant to any attempt from the show to rebuild itself. They aren’t moving to another channel, they will stay there until they find someone else with who they can identify with. Maybe a return of Felipe’s predecessor Jorge Hevia?

Ripley Electronics Catalogue - Photo: Archive

Third, I can only imagine the chaos, confusion and misdirection at the Ripley headquarters over the last couple of days.  They did the right thing and decided to cover all of their advertising material with Felipe’s picture as a sign of respect. This decision was made for sure by Lázaro Calderon himself. I can tell that there weren’t any of the middle managers, who will try to take benefit from this situation as a way to get points with their bosses. This action was done fast, without thinking of the millions that the company is losing from their marketing budget. This was a “gentleman” decision. A high level manager decision. Points for Ripley!
Now a learning experience: We should use opinion leaders in advertising campaigns to delivery a message, without loosing focus in building our own brand. When your brand is too attached to a public figure you know that you haven’t really built your brand over all of those years. Is Ripley the same without Felipe Camiroaga? Or has Ripley become synonymous with Felipe from an advertising point of view? If you take Felipe out of Ripley’s ads, what do you get? A Blank Space.

Ripley Store - Photo: Twitter

LUN Cover - Photo: Facebook

Four,  working in the media, I’m amazed by how much exposure Felipe is getting at this moment all over the world. Every media outlet is trying to do the right thing, making mistakes in the process. We see the local newspaper LUN announcing Felipe’s death on the first day of the accident with the message: “The Last Flight of the Falcon.” The public punished them for that. On the other side, TVN transmitted the official news about “No survivers” at 9:00 p.m., with a broadcast recorded in daylight by their main reporter Amaro Gómez, getting the immediate effect in the social media about them holding the announcement for the “best rating time.”
A message for all the media outlets: Follow Felipe’s lead. Be honest, simple, friendly and open and you will win the people’s heart, credibility and respect.