Djerf Avenue's Crisis: Can the Brand Recover?
Analysing the Shift in Sentiment Around Instagram’s Once Most Favourite Brand
Seven days ago, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet released a video featuring eleven current and former employees of Djerf Avenue, who shared their experiences of the company's toxic work environment. In the video, they anonymously accused founder and influencer Matilda Djerf of bullying, favoritism, and fat-shaming, describing their experience working with her as 'psychological terror.' Yesterday, Matilda took to Instagram to apologise, though she did not directly deny the claims.
With Matilda’s reputation as a kind, inclusive, and body-positive influencer, the social media backlash has been intense. But what really happens when a brand gets "canceled" online? How does it affect the brand in both the short and long term? Last week, I looked at this same topic in the context of Patrick Ta Beauty, but the controversy surrounding Djerf Avenue has escalated, becoming much louder and drawing in a completely different set of critics.
In this piece, we’ll dive into the sentiment surrounding Djerf Avenue before and after the controversy by analysing Instagram comments. We’ll also examine the likes of those comments to see which tone—positive, neutral, or negative—has the most support. Finally, to understand how the backlash unfolded and its long-term effects, we'll examine Djerf Avenue's website traffic across social media platforms.
Understanding the nuances of public sentiment and its ripple effects on brand perception isn’t just valuable—it’s essential. This market research provides beauty professionals with the actionable insights they need to navigate controversies and build resilient, reputation-proof strategies, making it indispensable for navigating modern PR and marketing.