Brands Defending Their Consumers
(this post is inspired by my awesome INFUSE multi-cultural team at Cohn & Wolfe)
It's been a fascinating few weeks in marketing with an interesting phenomenon emerging that I hope becomes the norm.
Brands Defending Their Consumers.
Back in mid-March, we saw it with Guinness Beer when the brand pulled out of the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade because the parade organizers wouldn't allow "out" marchers.
This week we have two more examples.
OK Cupid asked its members to not use the the Mozilla browser when using their site because the CEO had donated money to support anti-gay legislation in California. The CEO of Mozilla has since resigned. Smart move on both accounts.
Honey Maid has made a name for itself lately with its new campaign featuring "wholesome" families of every size, shape, makeup, and color. In response to some hatred slung its way, it released this video response:
Literally brings a tear to my eye.
All three of these brands, and hopefully countless others to follow suit, know and understand and yes love their consumers. They stand by them, they live with them, and yes they defend them. As well they should. As consumers we should support them in return and as marketers we should be inspired by them. I know I am.
Notice too that these brands are staying close to their knitting ... OKCupid has a huge gay membership, and Honey Maid has always been about being wholesome. So these brands are defending their consumers because it also makes sense, and these actions are tied directly to what the brands are all about. Plus they're staying current with what's happening to the makeup of our pop culture. As well they should.
What's your experience? JIM.
PS - If you have not seen that Honey Maid spot, here it is:
And here's one of a series of documentaries that the brand produced as background:
(note that this post also appeared in Huffington Post)
It's been a fascinating few weeks in marketing with an interesting phenomenon emerging that I hope becomes the norm.
Brands Defending Their Consumers.
This week we have two more examples.
OK Cupid asked its members to not use the the Mozilla browser when using their site because the CEO had donated money to support anti-gay legislation in California. The CEO of Mozilla has since resigned. Smart move on both accounts.
Honey Maid has made a name for itself lately with its new campaign featuring "wholesome" families of every size, shape, makeup, and color. In response to some hatred slung its way, it released this video response:
Literally brings a tear to my eye.
All three of these brands, and hopefully countless others to follow suit, know and understand and yes love their consumers. They stand by them, they live with them, and yes they defend them. As well they should. As consumers we should support them in return and as marketers we should be inspired by them. I know I am.
Notice too that these brands are staying close to their knitting ... OKCupid has a huge gay membership, and Honey Maid has always been about being wholesome. So these brands are defending their consumers because it also makes sense, and these actions are tied directly to what the brands are all about. Plus they're staying current with what's happening to the makeup of our pop culture. As well they should.
What's your experience? JIM.
PS - If you have not seen that Honey Maid spot, here it is:
And here's one of a series of documentaries that the brand produced as background:
(note that this post also appeared in Huffington Post)