Pulse Marketing’s Fake Brand Campaign Highlights Marketing Pitfalls

In a daring launch campaign, Pulse Marketing has unveiled a social experiment designed to highlight the dangers of creative marketing ideas that lack strategic direction.

 

The experiment, featuring fictional makeup brand ‘Selarah by Suplé,’ a clever play on the brand name ‘Pulse,’ serves as a cautionary tale for marketers eager to “break the internet” without a well-defined strategy.

Over a four-week period, the Selarah Beauty campaign mimicked real-world brand launch strategies—utilizing eye-catching creatives, tapping into trending conversations, and deploying disruptive messaging to stand out from competitors.

Leveraging its extensive digital media reach, Pulse Marketing helped increase visibility for the campaign and assess the effectiveness of Selarah’s disruptive approach: positioning men, rather than women, as the ultimate judges of female beauty.

The results exposed significant pitfalls when Selarah’s campaign’s message failed to resonate with its intended audience. While the campaign achieved impressive metrics – Over 1.4 million impressions, 1 million+ video views and 39,000+ engagements, it fell short in one crucial aspect—converting visibility into leads. Despite the buzz, these interactions did not translate into the desired sign-ups for the product wish list, proving that attention doesn’t always equal sales.

“Creative ideas must be rooted in sound strategy,” says Fiona Weeks, Managing Director at Pulse Nigeria and West Africa. “The Selarah Beauty experiment allowed us to show that while disruption can be engaging, it is only a strong strategic foundation that can guarantee desired results.

At Pulse Marketing, our focus is on crafting campaigns that are not only memorable but deliver measurable, impactful results.”

The Selarah campaign spurred widespread online discussions, prompting audiences to reflect on the importance of purpose in marketing. Many comments highlighted the need for thoughtful, purpose-driven strategies, noting that while disruptive content attracts short-term attention, brands that align their vision with authenticity and strategy are better positioned for growth, a sentiment that Pulse Marketing agrees with.

Pulse Marketing is on a mission to reshape the marketing landscape with a comprehensive suite of services, including Brand Strategy, Creative Advertising, SEO, Performance Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Management, Video Production, Influencer Marketing, Website Development, and Brand Partnerships.

Since inception, Pulse Marketing has collaborated with global giants like Amazon Prime Video and Nike Nigeria, alongside local heroes like Mouka Foam and Nigerian Breweries, delivering exceptional marketing and digital strategies to drive growth and success.