Should Brands Be Scared of the De-influencing Trend? 品牌害怕“反种草”吗？

In early 2023， scrolling on social media meant being bombarded with any number of ring-lit influencers trying to convince you to buy something you most probably don’t need with money you would probably be better off saving.

2023年年初，刷一刷社交媒体，你就会遭到万千网红的狂轰乱炸。在环形补光灯前面，他们想方设法让你用原本可以存起来的钱，购买一些你可能根本就不需要的东西。

And then came a cost of living crisis and with it the rise of the “de-influencer”.

随后，生活成本危机爆发，“反种草”网红随之兴起。

“Generally， we see young people are rejecting the pressures and expectations perpetuated by social media and influencer culture，” says Paul Greenwood， head of research & insight at We Are Social.

“总体来说，我们看见年轻人正在抵制长久以来社交媒体和网红文化带给他们的压力和期待。”维奥思社研究与洞察部负责人保罗·格林伍德说。

De-influencing or re-influencing？

“反种草”还是“重新种草”？

According to Shir Lee Akazawa， social media manager at Virtue1 APAC， marketers and brands need to recognise the motivations driving de-influencing—a desire for raw and real information from credible sources and pivot their influencer strategy accordingly.

Virtue亚太分部社交媒体经理希尔·李·赤泽说，营销人员和品牌方要先认清“反种草”浪潮背后的诱因，即消费者迫切希望通过可靠渠道获取未经加工的真实信息，再对自己的网红营销策略作出相应调整。

“Rather than worrying about ‘de-influencing’， we should perhaps look at it like ‘re-influencing’，” says Akazawa. “Opening up conversations and welcoming different perspectives from a range of credible sources to enable consumers to make informed purchases， instead of paying for blind product endorsements.”

“与其担心‘反种草’，我们或许应该把它看成‘重新种草’。”赤泽说，“开启对话，听取来自多方可靠渠道的不同观点，让消费者花钱花得明明白白，不再为非理性的产品宣传买单。”

Is de-influencing feeding the shift towards conscious consumerism？

“反种草”是否在推动向理性消费的转变？

According to Vice Media Group2’s retail report of 2022， young people are checking in with themselves before checking out with a purchase—77% of young people are asking themselves， “Do I really need this？” before making a purchase.

2022年Vice媒体集团的零售报告指出，现在年轻人去买东西，结账前都会跟自己确认一番——77%的年轻人买东西前会问自己“我真的需要这个吗？”

Olivia Plotnick， founder of Wai Social， a boutique social media marketing agency based out of Shanghai， says that de-influencing can be seen as a part of the shift towards conscious consumerism， particularly among younger consumers.

奥利维娅·普洛特尼克是总部位于上海的奢侈品社交媒体营销机构“我爱社交”的创始人。她说，消费趋于理性，这在年轻消费群体中尤为突出，“反种草”则可以看作理性消费转向过程的一部分。

“De-influencing is connected to the rise in younger consumers looking for better-quality products，” adds Plotnick. “Consumers who prioritise conscious consumption tend to place more value on the quality， authenticity， and transparency of the products they purchase. They are willing to pay a premium for products that align with their values.”

“年轻一代的消费者越来越追求更优质的产品，‘反种草’应运而生。”普洛特尼克补充道，“优先考虑理性消费的消费者往往更看重所购产品的质量、真伪和透明度。与自己价值观相符的产品，他们愿意出高价购买。”

Roana Brito， group strategy director at R/GA3， says that de-influencing is a response to people’s growing fatigue with excessive consumerism and false claims.

R/GA集团的战略总监罗安娜·布里托认为，“反种草”是人们日益厌倦过度消费主义和虚假宣传的一种表现。

“The uncertain economic climate has forced people to tighten their purse strings， leading them to look for smarter ways to spend their money. Brands and marketers must be transparent and honest in their messaging to appeal to these conscious consumers，” says Brito.

布里托说：“经济形势不明朗，逼得人们必须系紧钱袋子，寻找更加精明的花钱方式。品牌方和营销人员招揽这些理性消费者时，必须做到信息透明、诚实守信。”

Will some brands benefit more from de-influencing than others？

某些品牌会在“反种草”浪潮中获益更多吗？

De-influencing has already had an impact on brands across the board， particularly in highly competitive categories that are increasingly driven by efficacy， such as beauty or technology. But the growing trend has been far from limited to these competitive categories.

“反种草”浪潮下，所有品牌均受到冲击，尤其是像美容或技术等越来越受功效驱动的领域。然而，这股浪潮愈演愈烈，受到波及的已远不止这些竞争异常激烈的领域。

“Interestingly， categories that have been historically motivated by aspiration such as travel or luxury fashion are also increasingly affected by de-influencing，” says Akawaza. “Whether it is the calling out of Instagram travel influencers who have been clearly sponsored by hotels or travel operators， or TikTok accounts that painfully scrutinise every detail of a luxury product to question the exorbitant prices of these goods.”

“旅游、奢侈品等方面的消费历来受主观期望驱使，可有趣的是，它们也日益受到‘反种草’的影响。”赤泽说，“参与其中的有Instagram旅行达人，他们明面上一直受酒店或旅游运营商赞助，现在却大声呼吁‘反种草’；还有一群TikTok博主，他们死抠奢侈品的每一处细节，只为对这些商品的离谱标价提出质疑。”

The “dupe” trend is another one that fits into the broader de-influencing narrative， which saw spike in early 2023 on TikTok and Instagram. The dupe trend is when creators share videos of a high-end product alongside a cheaper or more affordable version that could be used to achieve a similar look or effect.

2023年初，话题标签“平替”杀入TikTok和Instagram的热门趋势榜。从广义上讲，这个话题也属于“反种草”浪潮的范畴。人们在“平替”话题下分享的视频里，高端产品旁边摆放着外形或功效相似，但价格更低廉或更可承受的产品。

“So discounter brands with similar products to high-end versions should be in prime position to take advantage of this shift，” says Greenwood. “Although the product itself will have to be of decent quality.”

“所以说，和高端品牌拥有相似产品的廉价品牌应该会占据最佳位置，能够从这场理性消费转变中获利。”格林伍德说，“当然，产品自身质量必须过硬。”

“Brands that have behaved in less than ethical ways need to be cautious， as they will be the ones who will suffer the most repercussions，” says Brito.