Atome SG called out for showing support on Jeff Ng's IG (after deleting posts of him)

Netizens have called out Atome Singapore for showing support on the Instagram page of Jeff Ng after recently distancing itself from the busker following abuse allegations. The buy now pay later brand commented a few emojis on a recent video by Ng, including one with heart-shaped eyes and some mocked Atome for being two-faced, especially having deleted posts of Ng on its social media channels previously.

Meanwhile, a handful criticised the brand for still supporting Ng while one told Atome not to be "a desperate loser" and instead "find someone else more worthy to represent [the] brand". A few netizens also told Atome to be sincere in supporting Ng, adding that people do change and that everyone makes silly mistakes. Hence, they should be given a second chance. Additionally, competitors Pace and Hoolah were also given their chance to shine because a handful of netizens said they would switch to another buy now pay later service. Atome was unable to comment on MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's queries at the time of writing. 

Just last week, Atome removed posts of Ng from its Instagram and TikTok after his ex-girlfriend alleged that he had subjected her to psychological abuse and exhibited controlling behaviour. Shortly after, Ng was also accused by netizens of buying followers due to a sudden spike in his followers. Previous statistics by Meltwater showed that most online sentiments concerning Ng were negative (31%) and some words associated with him were "worst person", "alleged abuse", "attitude", and "followers".

Companies have often been told to collaborate with influencers or public figures that align with their brand values and authenticity remains an important factor in this day and age. This is definitely something to bear in mind with more brands spending over 30% of their total marketing budget on influencer marketing.

According to The Southeast Asia Influencer Marketing Industry report by influencer marketing and commerce platform Partipost and Quest Ventures, authenticity is still a crucial factor that makes an influencer genuine and relatable for his or her followers, as they are viewed as more "human" instead of a distant public figure.

Meanwhile, a survey by DeVries Global released earlier this year also further supported the case that consumers these days, especially Gen Z, value authenticity and integrity (44%). Authenticity and integrity ranked first in Singapore and Indonesia. Gen Z in Southeast Asia also expect brands to take a stance (54%) and will stop supporting brands that remain silent (37%).

On a global level, Atome is currently working with brand ambassadors and K-pop boyband ASTRO. It recently rolled out a video titled "Own Your Expression", together with BBDO Singapore and Mashup, that shows ASTRO members getting ready to film a commercial. The six members then rotate among different outfits throughout the video, further enforcing the campaign's tagline "Own Your Expression".

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