Oatly has shown that corporate communications can be hilarious (and effective).
First, their comms department is internally (and sometimes externally) simply referred to as "Oatly Department of Mind Control".
Then, since they sell milk (haha, that's exactly what they DON'T do), two years ago they ran a provocative yet memorable ad called 'Normalize it', ie. plant-based drinks. Yet they have many (many!) opponents (enemies?), they found a way to own them... in the most elegant way.
If you go on the Oatly website's FAQ section, you will find an item called "I hate Oatly but I don’t know how to put it in words." - with a link to another website called... (wait for it) fckoatly.com -- where they answer their critiques head on.
But that's not all. They take it to another level. Literally.
On the above site, at the bottom you will find this: "Totally hate fckoatly.com? Go to fckfckoatly.com", which, as you would expect, takes you to the next level.
Daring, courageous, tongue-in-cheek. And it works.
For a challenger of legacy products and companies, they come with a personality, a brand, and a style that resonates with baristas, urban consumers, artists, and hipsters, many of whom have a strong online voice to spread the gospel.
Last but not least, they also ran a 'get-out-the-vote' campaign for the 2024 European Parliament elections earlier this year called 'Voat for the Planet', with a signature Oatly-style design and some discreet branding. Not many companies found it worthy to spend creative energy and money on trying to increase voter turnout.
Oatly's comms goes beyond selling a box of liquid: they sell an idea (that you can eventually drink).
Enjoy your 🥛p.s.: great honour to have run a workshop for the Oatly team last week, special thanks to Cecilia McAleavey for the opportunity.
cc Influence Builders | The Right Street
**This was originally posted on Andras Baneth's LinkedIn account.