Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

To CMOs, politics can be like the Sirens of Greek mythology to marketers. The potential for brands to create emotional bonds with customers based on shared values is tauntingly alluring. Yet many fear that the controversy they invite is like a pile of sharp rocks lying in wait under the waves.

When I discussed this story with the editor of this channel, she told me that no less than a dozen marketing pros approached her after the election asking to write stories about why now is the time for brands to take a stand. That makes sense — advertisers are in the emotional connections business, and the Don Drapers of the world can see that this is rich emotional turf. But for CMOs, the decision to "take a stand" is not so simple.

This morning, over scones and coffee, the VP of marketing for a $15 billion retailer who told me her brand wouldn’t touch controversy with a 10-foot pole. The likelihood of alienating 50% of their customers was far too daunting.

Let’s face it — every brand faces its own reality. When Patagonia came out against Trump’s order rescinding national monuments, they were hardly taking a daring risk with their customers. For Target — a brand that serves a much larger and broader cross-section of the population — standing up for equality with its transgender bathroom policy led to widespread boycotts that had an impact on the bottom line.

The agency I run, Traction, witnessed this first-hand in recent weeks when I wrote a LinkedIn post called “Why We’re Offering Paid Leave for Activism”  about our new Days of Action policy that allows employees two days per year to participate in democracy — however they see fit. They can join a protest, volunteer for a cause, or support a candidate.