Former Unilever marketing executive Shashank Mehta founded The Whole Truth in 2019 to offer healthier alternatives to packaged foods. Mehta has been changing the way food products are marketed and advertised too. Keeping content at the core of The Whole Truth’s marketing strategy, Mehta appears in all of the brand"s commercials. He tells Storyboard18 that no one else can speak about his brand mission with more conviction than him.
Recently, The Whole Truth roped in comedian Rohan Joshi to create a series of videos. In the “educational mini-series", Joshi plays the role of ‘Healthy Food’ and Mehta plays ‘The Whole Truth’, and they go on to have a conversation that highlights the “hidden chemicals" in packaged foods. In another episode, we see the many ways food is made to look irresistible in ads. For instance, the milk in the cereal bowl is actually glue and the golden honey drizzled on pancakes in ads and product photos are engine oil.
In a previous interview, Mehta had told Storyboard18 that when he creates and also features in the content for his brand, he thinks “consumers can feel the honesty." They see through paid endorsements like influencer or celebrity-laden ads, which are often forced, Mehta believes.
Keeping with the brand"s philosophy of always speaking the truth and nothing but the truth, Mehta took to social media this week to announce that the brand will be taking a break from Instagram.
Mehta and his team weren’t thrilled with the content they were putting out. Dancing to trending music and pointing to corners of the screen with cluttered text boxes didn’t seem right. “Everyone could feel the shift in the energy," says Mehta candidly.
In a freewheeling chat with Storyboard18, Mehta opens about why his brand decided to go on an Instagram break the risks involved in this move, lessons from Unilever featuring in his own brand"s commercials and more.
Edited excerpts.
Q. At a time when every brand wants to be on the top of their Instagram game, The Whole Truth decided to log off and take a break. What led to this decision?
The purpose of our content, across platforms, is deeply focused on educating consumers about food and fitness. Both these topics are complex. Honestly, listicles or one-liners don’t work for a brand like ours. We bring nuances to the content we write by adding expert opinions and research-led information. We almost look at packaging our copies like journalistic pieces that will answer questions that consumers are constantly looking for. This approach worked for us and we want to continue to do so.
Soon Instagram started changing its algorithm. It indicated that it’s time to move on from photos and get on to Stories. When that was catching up, IGTV was pushed heavily, when brands like ours were exploring, Reels were launched, and now it’s all about it.
Q. So what"s the issue?
This was leading to two problems. One with algorithms changing every few months, it was becoming difficult for my team, which is a lean one, to do justice to the purpose of our content. It was taking us away from why we do what we do.
Two, the secular trends in the algorithm shift are that content is moving from long-form to short-form from deep to shallow and from attracting higher attention span to lower attention span. This is not well suited to what we aim to do. It was difficult to introspect this when we were in the middle of the game.
There was an unsaid pressure of producing a Reel and post every day. We realised if we have to get this right, we need to step back, take a break, and disconnect for a bit. We were starting to get confused that the medium is the primary thing rather than the message. I think if we continue to craft the content we have been doing, we will find the right medium for it soon.
Q. Have you factored in the risk involved with this move?
I agree that there is a risk. However, when we sat down to reevaluate things for us, we realised consumers love our explainer format content pieces. They see value in it. If we would have tried fitting our content in shorter formats even further, our users would have noticed, and that would have affected our growth on Instagram. These changes are visible slowly.
I think we will have enough time to explore formats like blogs, and newsletters, and even create a content hub on our website, where people will find us. Once you chase follower count and engagement, you may end up being a completely different brand. That traction will lead to the discovery of a brand that may be not the real you.
Having said that, I think no one else can speak about my brand mission with more conviction than I can. As a founder of the brand, if I am putting myself out there, it’s an indication that I am responsible for what I am promising. No celebrity can do that for the brand. We are a decently funded startup and can easily go and get a celebrity face like many others, but in my opinion, no one can do it more authentically than me.
First Published: Jul 08, 2022, 18:19
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