When Brands Become Reviewers
Okay, I get it - I'm on Amazon a lot. But now let's talk about a new use of brand equity: reviews.
We all know that reviews are the oil that keep the Amazon machine running smoothly. A whopping 93.8% of people mostly trust product reviews on Amazon with trust varying across totally, somewhat, and only from verified purchasers (from Statista here). But now we're seeing something different. This is what I saw when I recently did a search for a digital voice recorder:
Editorial recommendations from...Rolling Stone? Wow, I have not thought about Rolling Stone in decades and here they are telling me which voice recorder they'd pick. Ok, I buy it. They are a publication with journalists that likely use the equipment. And to boot, they have some chops when it comes to the music industry - so quality is important to them. I'm feeling good about their POV.
But then I dug a little deeper. I wonder what else Rolling Stone has reviewed?
Best folding wagons?
Best treadmills for full fitness at home?
Best end tables and side tables? Huh?
And everything published on the exact same day - what is happening? Here's my theory: Rolling Stone is testing out this feature to see if the juice is worth the squeeze. And it makes sense for a few reasons:
- They have some writers on the bench since concerts have been paused due to COVID.
- Magazine subscriptions are moving to Amazon. And Rolling Stone wants to play ball with Amazon in order to jockey for a nice position in the new magazine subscription future via Amazon.
- It's a revenue stream (potentially). This one may be shakiest, but given the time it takes to write up one of these reviews if you can hit critical mass or have one review that takes off, it could pay for the whole enterprise.
For more info, you can check out Rolling Stone's Amazon profile and form your own theory. What do you think about why Rolling Stone is reviewing treadmills and end tables?