Screenshot from “Started From the Bottom” Video

Drake, a popular Toronto-born rapper, recently released his video for his new hit single “Started From the Bottom”. Although companies usually spend a lot of time and money into being associated with celebrities, Shoppers Drug Mart was not too keen with their appearance in his video—Drake and 2 friends are initially shown in the video as Shoppers employees, with the store as  representation as being the “bottom”.

This incident definitely opened my eyes to the other side of marketing—the unwanted kind. According to Tammy Smitham, VP of Communications and Corporate Affairs, “Drake’s production team requested to film…as they wanted to depict something that was uniquely Canadian. We agreed to allow the filming to show our support of Canadian artists.” Clearly, this plan backfired on the company. Companies such as Canada Goose benefit greatly from unpaid product placement (ie. Kate Upton wore one of the brand’s jackets on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition) For them, the product placement benefits them as it aligns perfectly with the company’s marketing strategy. For Shoppers, it’s a disappointment—product placement, while such a highly valuable marketing tool, can do so much damage.

This incident really allowed me to realize how companies can sometimes lose control of their marketing—you never know what type of outside influences you have to deal with! Even when you think you have done the best research and know the competitive environment like the back of your hand (if companies could have hands), marketers always need to stay on their toes less they are thrown curveballs like this. For now, I am excited to see how Shoppers plans to recover from this giant blow to their image.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/shoppers-drug-mart-makes-cameo-in-rapper-drakes-video/article8724677/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/for-canada-goose-sports-illustrateds-swimsuit-edition-is-a-golden-egg/article8643134/