Brand & PoliticsThe net effect of taking sides

Jill Saydam

Jill SaydamCreative DirectorContent ProducerDigital Strategist

Twitter: @girlfrommarsInstagram: @marsgirl66LinkedIn: Jill SaydamSnapchat: girlfrommars7jill@thegirlfrommars.com

What’s Going On In The World?

• Political power shifting to the right• Disaffection with status quo – people wanting change• Brexit – UK choosing to leave EU• Donald Trump - protectionism• France –Macron centrist vs Le Pen far right • Moving towards de-globalization

Where are we getting our information?

Social Media – has replaced Mainstream Media as a communication platform for politicians and as a main source of information for the public.

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Consumer Culture – Political Culture

People are divided …and this means more risk for brands that take sides

• 24 Hour news scrutiny• “Outrage Culture” fueled by social media• Activists – eager to impact political opinion and the reputation of companies• Advitism – advertising under the guise of activist theme

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• American Fast Food Franchise• Christian values – Sunday’s off• $$ to organizations that push traditional

marriage (anti-gay marriage)• 2012 University students protest to get the

franchise taken off campuses• Jim Henson Company cancelled contract to

include Pajanimal toys in kids meals – impact partner brands

• Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee- Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day to counter boycott by same sex marriage activists

• 600,000 people rsvp’d for the appreciation day on Facebook

Chick-fil-A

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Chick-fil-A Results

• 29.9% Sales increase during time of Chick-fil A Appreciation Day

• 61% of likely voters had a positive impression of Chick-fil-A,• 13% said they would participate in a boycott• Sales increased 12% after controversy to $4.6 billion in 2012• Ongoing success and expansion

Summary: The controversy helped the brand’s bottom line

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSBFTKI-zIM&list=RDLSBFTKI-zIM#t=90

Spoof video following Chick-fil-A appreciation day

John Goodman as KFC founder Colonel Sanders says he loves gay people

Using comedy to comment on one brands position with a competitor brand position – but fictional

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Elections and Social Engagement

• Social Media - powerful and influential tool during Elections• During 2016 US Election – people and celebrities using SM to

express anger, frustration, agreement• Social Media feeds filled with pro or con candidate• Preaching to the converted – friends generally aligned to same

political spectrum• When not aligned – unfriending occurred• Election day saw 716 MILLION interactions on FB

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What does this mean for Brands?

• As a company, what are your beliefs and ideologies?• Does that align with your customers?• How does that align with your community – what is the context

which you operate?• Are consumers demanding you state your political position?• How can you anticipate the impact this might have on your

reputation and bottom line?

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Business & Politics are Intertwined

• CEO’s commonly endorse political parties or make financial contributions

• Some firms are explicit about their social values• Consumers can and will boycott firms that don’t reflect their

own values• Increased social pressure and judgement impacting brands

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Psychology

• People are divisive and choosing sides –more active if they fear dire consequences

• Motivated Reasoning – People are more likely to come to conclusions that they WANT to come to

• Memory – easier remembering information that fits our world viewsOblivious to anything that might discount it

• Moral Foundations –Arguing a point of view from your moral foundation (liberal vs conservative) - pointless as other person will be deaf to that point of view

Psychological Mindset

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Brand Britain

• Baby Boomers fearful of globalization• Younger want to stay with EU but didn’t vote• Areas with lower levels of employment – wanted to leave• Immigration– people wanted control –fearful • Reality vs Perception– people easily convinced of a story if told simply

Brexit – What Happened?

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British Brand Value

What is Britishness??

• Many brands benefit from their association with culture, history and even stereotypes.

• “Britishness” allows some brands to do well globally • Brexit– suddenly Brand Britain is associated with a snobbish, classist,

isolationist - risk of losing appeal • Brits described as traditional but transgressive, formal but funny,

polite but profane

These traits have always been part of Brand BritainBrexit has conspicuously accentuated these traits

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Understanding What Kind of Brand You Are

1. Attribute 2. Aspirational 3. Experience

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Attribute Brands

“An attribute brand possesses an image that conveys confidence in the product’s functional attributes.”

(e.g. Volvo positioning itself for safety or Ariel for cleaning quality)

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Aspirational Brands

“Aspirational brands convey an image about the types of people who buy the brand. The image says less about the product and more about a desired lifestyle.”

(Louis Vuitton - jetsetters, Rolex - performance and professionals. Tend to be the premium and luxury brands based)

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Experience Brands

Experience brands convey an image of shared associations and emotions. It goes beyond aspirations and is more about a shared philosophy between the brand and the individual consumer.

(Virgin, Nike Plus ,GoPro)

Virgin Atlantic - Brexit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16whrdPFvTQ&feature=youtu.be

Brexitcalculator.com

Royal Jordanian Airlines

Prior to the US Election

Result: Ad went viral– 450 million views, 80% positive sentiment

Objective: Sell more flights to the US

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Bookings increased 50% after these ads

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“It’s never about politics. The whole world was following the election. People don’t follow the election for politics. It’s just what everyone is talking about, so when everyone was discussing Trump’s comments about banning Muslims, the ad agency joined in, the way a Jordanian uncle would. We just made a silly joke. And people responded to it.”

Hadi Alaeddin, Art Director, Memac Ogilvy

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Macron Wins French Presidency

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#deletuber

Donald Trump issues Executive Order to ban immigration by people from 7 Muslim countries

Protests break out at New York’s Kennedy Airport

Union gives NY Taxi drivers a “break” in middle of protest (solidarity)

Uber keeps driving People urge each other to #deleteuber

Uber said that "the decision to turn off surge pricing was made specifically to avoid profiting from increased demand during the protest.

Uber's tweet regarding JFK pricing went out more than a half hour after the taxi strike had ended.

Uber and Twitter

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Lyft (competitor to Uber) had a surge of followers after the Uber PR disaster (Socialbakers)

Lyft took advantage of its rival’s circumstances - announced that the brand would donate $1m to the American Civil Liberties Union. The move boosted downloads of Lyft’s ride-sharing app over Uber’s.

Results of #DeleteUber

Why did people have such a strong response to Uber? Because Uber has a history of INCREASING prices during a crisis. 2014 – Hostage situation in SydneyUber rose minimum fee to $82 (US) for pickups near siege- 4x more than it cost before siege.

This is how Uber justified it

That wasn’t working

So they did this and made it free

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Response to Budweiser Superbowl Ad

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"Brands couldn't afford to remain neutral on social issues which were affecting consumers' lives. The biggest risk advertisers face on the Super Bowl is not getting noticed.”

Chris Lehmann, Managing Director Landor in San Francisco

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"Honesty is the foundation of any relationship. As is being true to who you are, standing up for what you think is right. Those brands that make a stand ultimately benefit from that stance.”

Saul Betmead, chief strategy officer at Y&R Europe

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Objective: Drive traffic to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’s Election Night Special

How: Snapchat lens allowed users to "vote" for their preferred presidential candidateSmile - "if you're with her" Raise Eyebrows - "to make America great again."

Transformed the user into either a donkey or an elephant

Results: The Daily Show's election Snapchat lens was the best performing lens of all time with 78MM total views

Entertainment Brands Getting Political

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The Power of Influencers

Influencers - loyal, niche wide reaching audiences

Their millions of followers can make or break a campaign with one video

Most people don’t want to sift through political speak -Vloggers speak their language

EU referendum, 2.6 million young people voted – 64% of the registered group – and 71 % of them voted Remain. If all of those able to vote had done so in the same proportion, Brexit would have been rejected

Casey Neistat attracted 5.9 million views of his protest vlog over the treatment of immigrants under ban. Video raised awareness of the impact and grew opposition to the policy

Brands need to consider influencers they are aligning themselves with

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Faux Empathy

• Be careful confusing clear purpose with Faux Empathy

• If your brand is fabricating sense of social responsibility or political involvement consumers quickly see if not authentic (Pepsi/Kendall Jenner)

• You will be found out!

• If your stance not consistent or relevant to brand values – you will be viewed as untrustworthy and opportunistic – will do more harm than good to reputation

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Positioning Your Brand in Political Times

• Core Values – Mission Statement – return to this

• Must be agreement from the top and throughout company

• Reward Risk Evaluation – anticipate bottom line impact and impact on brand reputation

• Create Content Carefully – align with core values – but not oblivious to the potential response

• Relatable Stories – Consumers want stories they can relate to – that reflects their lives and beliefs.

• Working with Influencers – do due diligence when choosing who to work with

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Positioning Your Brand in Political Times• Live Video –ensure that what you put on camera live gets across the

message you want

• Building trust – people don’t trust politicians – and just 15% trust brands…how do you build trust?

• Bring customers into the conversation – listening, let them generate content –more authentic and resonate more

• Be prepared to respond immediately and transparently- Correct any misinformation with verified sources, clearly state your position

• Choosing to stay away from it all – evaluate the impact of not being involved.

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"As a brand you have to ask yourself: 'Is this a fight you really want to take part in? Are you simply adding noise to an already saturated crowd or are you truly adding value?

Having a clear sense of purpose has never been more important for business; the role of marketing in delivering that message has never been more vital to ensure meaningful messages don’t get lost in translation."

David Parry, CEO, Saffron

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Questions

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