“I loved the job immediately,” he said to BuzzFeed News. “I love how colors blend together, what goes with what… It’s hard to explain, but I really enjoy mixing paint. I like showing what stuff it can do.”
Last spring, Piloseno began assessing his TikTok account to use as a marketing opportunity for the company. He created the pitch deck showing Sherwin-Williams how it could leverage the TikTok platform to appeal to a younger consumer base. Piloseno hoped to develop brand awareness for the company through social media.
He first presented the pitch to his manager and a sales representative at the store who loved it. Piloseno was given a contact in the marketing department of the company’s headquarters. After several attempts of contacting the marketing contact, he was ultimately denied an opportunity to present his idea.
The company was put on high alert after receiving several calls about experimental paint mixing using their products inspired by Piloseno’s TikTok videos. BuzzFeed News notes that the company received a high volume of inquires about mixing blueberries into their paint because of a very specific viral TikTok from Piloseno.
He was fired in late July. Piloseno was left bemused by the company’s actions without the proper chance to tell his side of the story.
According to BuzzFeed News, “While we don’t discuss the details of employee matters publicly, what I can tell you is that we were made aware of the TikTok videos produced by Anthony Piloseno through a customer complaint,” said Julie Young, the vice president of global corporate communications. “We take all complaints seriously and thoroughly investigated the customer’s concerns. Following the investigation, Mr. Piloseno was let go in July 2020 due to multiple Company policy violations.”
Piloseno has since shared what happened to him publicly to his millions of TikTok fans. He has since continued to film his trendy paint-mixing TikToks in a friend’s basement. Now, he purchases his paint supplies from Lowe’s.
Companies are missing the point of adjusting to the world of digital and social marketing. Like Piloseno attempted to pitch, taking advantage of social media platforms like TikTok has proven to grow brands and companies far beyond their direct consumer base.
The truth of the matter is that younger demographics rarely purchase products because they watched advertisements on television or because they’re loyal to the brand. Younger generations look to popular social media platforms to influence their spending.
Tony told BuzzFeed News, “I’m working on making a logo; I just bought a domain name to make my own website,” he said. “I’m hoping to sell my own merchandise and my own paint colors.”
If companies don’t consider the new digital age, brands will fade as new and innovative companies will emerge to the top. It appears to be Sherwin-Williams loss as they lost both a passionate employee and large viewership to the company.
