The Scoop: Duolingo’s legendary social media manager walks away as company priorities shift

When Zaria Parvez took a job with Duolingo five years ago, it was her first job out of college.

She had no clue just how far her impact would reach, or that her role in the development of the brand’s beloved Duo character would become a model for how to lead a social-first brand strategy.

Duolingo’s TikTok went from 35,000 followers when she began to 16 million today. She has been the mind behind parody videos, the death-of-Duo campaign and even Duo’s involvement as a wedding officiant.

But this week, Parvez announced she was leaving the company, having “done everything she could do” for Duolingo and wanting to take on a new challenge.

Her departure comes on the heels of backlash to a statement made by CEO Luis Von Ahn about replacing contractors with AI, a misstep Von Ahn said he takes full responsibility for.

In an article from The Wall Street Journal, Parvez admitted that as Duolingo grew, she felt mounting pressure to reach new heights.

“Last year when I went on medical leave. I was really confused and exhausted,” she said. “It got to the point where the anxiety of running such a big account and having to be always on was so on my shoulders. I would get three hours of sleep at night. I would be incessantly trying to figure out, how do I be creative in all the best ways? How do I do this on my own?”

After taking some time to weigh her options, Parvez said it’s time for a change and that her experience at Duolingo is one she will carry with her throughout her career.

Why it matters:  Duolingo has grown into massive corporation, backed by its social reputation and beloved character, Duo. When its audience thinks of Duolingo, they automatically see the green owl. This is because Parvez grew brand awareness with thoughtful, if unhinged, strategies.

Developing brand awareness is key to driving growth. “It’s an investment, a down payment. Eventually, the mortgage pays itself off if you have the right strategy,” she said.

The right strategy depends on an emotional connection, a character that people can root for or a voice that is genuinely helpful to its target audience. Creating a genuine connection gets people in the door. Innovation, creativity and authentic engagement keep them there.

It’s OK to try and fail and try again, so long as transparency and accountability are behind those efforts.  “You don’t know where the line is until you cross it, and I’ve done five years of this, so now I know where the line is for Duo. It’s a lot of testing and learning and being OK getting canceled every now and then.”

Editor’s Top Reads:

• As a part of its continued efforts to include a more modern touch, Cracker Barrel, known for its homestyle comfort food, unveiled a new logo this week, one that kept the same brown and gold color scheme but was notably missing the old man leaning against a barrel. One Instagram user called the new logo feels “cold and sterile.” Another user called for the chain to “bring back the grandpa.” Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino said that despite some pushback, “Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow – the things that you love are still there. We need people to choose us, and we want people to choose us,” The Tennessean Nashville reports. Felss Masino is defending the decision, emphasizing that the company needs to appeal to a new crowd, come into more modern times and refresh its vibe. Sometimes people just don’t like change and that’s understandable, but clearly Cracker Barrel has a vision for where it wants to go and is standing firm in those choices while reassuring customers that the heart of the store and “everything you love” will remain in place.
• Michigan-based grocery chain Meijer is receiving online backlash this week as a video from March 2024 resurfaced. . Bodycam footage that showed the arrest of James Dension, a 19-year-old autistic deli worker at a store in Seven Hills, Ohio, began circling on social media, Michigan Live reports. The employee admitted he had eaten some food with the intent to pay it back, though said he hadn’t at the time police were called. The amount of food added up to $110 over three months. On Wednesday this week, the retailer responded, saying, “We take this very seriously and recognize that the situation should have been handled differently. Earlier this year, we implemented a new procedure to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We’ve learned a great deal of experience. We hold ourselves to a higher standard and are committed to making sure our actions reflect how we want to treat each other.” Meijer takes ownership here, admitting that this should have been handled differently, and  emphasizing the seriousness of the situation. Accountability goes a long way. Transparency goes a long way. Genuine admission of wrongdoing shows that the company recognizes that what happened doesn’t align with their values and that they are working to improve. This incident also shows that in the age of social media, nothing is really over. Even if something isn’t a crisis in the moment, it could rear its head years down the line as videos and stories spread.
• Print news is dead. After years of mass layoffs, buyouts and an increasingly digital-first audience, this trope is being challenged by satirical news outlet The Onion. The organization’s CEO Ben Collins said this week that after relaunching its paper in print through a subscription-based model, The Onion debuted as the 13th largest print newspaper in the U.S. He writes on LinkedIn, “The Onion has almost 54,000 paying subscribers in all 50 states and over 50 countries. This week last year, we had zero…In short, it’s a miracle and it’s working.” He added that “people like getting something in the mail that’s not f—ing awful. (The Onion, for what it’s worth, would never bleep that out.)” While its doubtful print news will make a major comeback, The Onion has shown that there’s at least some nostalgic appetite for print, and that people will pay for what they find adds value to their lives.