HI THERE: I love the challenge of marketing because the market in which compete is always changing. Here are some things that caught my attention this week.
“There’s not a major business executive who is a Trump supporter now”
Wednesday’s insurrection marked the worst breach of the Capitol since the war of 1812 — in that case by a foreign military, the UK’s — and is already regarded as a day of infamy in America’s democracy. To make matters worse, CNN reports that while the Capitol was under siege by Trump-terrorists, and while Trump was refusing to sign off on sending the National Guard, he called at least one Senator on the phone and demanded that the election results be overturned.
Any brand that stays silent is to be complicit in the assault on our democracy. While the My Pillow CEO continues to spew incoherent ramblings in support of Trump one can place a bet on how much longer his business will last.
Social justice issues impact your customers, your team members, and your business. Silence about these issues does more harm than good. Your customers want to know whether the brands they spend their hard-earned dollars on are for them. They want to know that your brand cares about them as people, not just as customers.
How are brands reacting? AdAge reports that most big brands are pausing their marketing campaigns. This is a huge mistake; they should demonstrate to audiences that they believe in democracy and decency. It’s not about profits and sales today, and brands had better learn that lesson real quick.
Poor Leadership Effects Your Brand
I am an avid cyclist. I ride over 100 miles a week and have spent a lot of money and time on my hobby.
Yesterday I came across this quote from the CEO of Specialized Bicycles “regrettably, some of the people we had, who’ve done a fine job for us, we don’t need; we have to make room for new people. I know that sounds harsh, but that’s the way it is.”
Can you imagine working for a company whose CEO said that? I can assure you that I will never buy another Specialized product again.
The Facebook Apple feud is nothing to marketers
The media made more of of the Apple move to secure consumer privacy than people and marketers care about. Facebook ran full page ads attacking Apple’s decision on new privacy guidelines but people know they have the most to lose.
Even though Facebook has continually farted on users and their privacy some media companies continue to beg Facebook to take their money while some big brands have decided to pull their ad dollars from Facebook.
Like it or not social media’s day of reckoning is coming. A good first step was banning Trump but there are first amendment issues that need to clarified with new casebook law.
