Instagram fail of the year: Xiaomi's influencer campaign becomes a joke
A social media influencer with tens of thousands of followers announced she was joining the brand's team of ambassadors in Israel, but one embarrassing photo revealed the actual device she uses.
The Instagram fail of the year met the long consumer memory of Israelis: Xiaomi's importer in Israel, the Hamilton Group, finds itself once again at the center of a media storm. This time, the issue stems from a combination of an amateur influencer campaign and memories of past events that went wrong.
It all started when Maayan Raz, a social media influencer with about 70,000 followers, excitedly announced she was joining the brand's team of ambassadors. In a series of stories uploaded from the launch event, she wrote, "Morning with my beauties who are joining the super-exclusive team of Xiaomi in Israel." However, followers did not need more than a fraction of a second to notice an embarrassing detail: in the photo she uploaded from the event, Raz was holding her personal iPhone in a prominent and visible area.
The internet responded with a sharp wave of mockery and sarcasm. Comments like "Kids, help the super-exclusive and high-quality team of Xiaomi influencers understand what is wrong with the picture" flooded the pages, turning the expensive PR move into a viral joke. Users criticized the lack of credibility in such campaigns, where influencers promote products without even bothering to hide the devices they actually use.
The current fail joins the problematic history of the brand's PR and public events in the country. Particularly notable is the opening event of the Xiaomi concept store at the HaZahav Mall in Rishon LeZion, which turned into complete chaos. At that event, the Hamilton Group promised unprecedented deals, including products for only 10 shekels, as well as smartphones, scooters, and vacuums at discounts of up to 55%. The promises attracted about 1,500 people who swarmed the store entrance for hours.
