Why Dote Needs A Better Crisis Strategy

Dote has not been able to get a break despite all the simultaneous scandals that have been in the news. (See: James Charles & Nike). Diversity and inclusion is a tricky subject, especially brands who don’t have a ton of diversity in their staff. In a previous post, I mentioned what I would’ve recommended Dote do in response to the issue and now I want to assess the situation at hand.

Since the scandal, Dote did a good job in addressing concerns and highlighting how they plan to do better. However, their main strategy seems to have somewhat backfired on them. They’ve been posting very diverse pictures of girls on Instagram with the caption, “this is what Dote looks like”. I personally feel that this isn’t an original idea and is a bit cliché, but that’s my opinion.

However, it seems that many other users might agree because they are certainly not buying it. In fact, some users have even said that the pictures are really old and Dote never posted them before. This is a bit fishy to me because it does seem disingenuous. I would’ve loved to see a diversity and inclusion team created using influencers. Perhaps then they could have used the caption, “this is what Dote looks like”.

The fact that many users are not buying this strategy says a lot and could really hurt the company. Like I’ve said, trust is so important for brands and gaining trust can be difficult. The most important thing to remember is that it takes time, behavioral change, and sincerity.

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash