Does Solidarity Marketing Actually Work?
If there’s anything that you can count on during a national or global disaster it’s that there’ll be someone looking to spin it. That’s not to say that there isn’t a general sense of genuine sentiment about how “tough things are all around”.
Unfortunately, it’s very easy for the sentiment to come across as if it’s being said by the “Cool Principal”. They’re “down with all you kids for sheezle…eezey, but I actually have a biznizzle to run, dab!” (Direct quote from this guy, probably, and just before he narcs on them to the cops for saying JUUL pod).
The message can feel even more disingenuous when everyone is doing the same thing to say the same thing. It’s one thing to read the room before you give your Jerry McGuire speech and it’s another to look down and make sure you aren’t wearing a Budweiser Nascar jacket and trying to sell Lincoln Town Cars at a funeral. Virue signaling can be construed as tasteless, especially when words aren’t followed by actions.
However, there are ways to market effectively AND authentically, so that your message doesn’t come across as pandering. Instead of just saying “we’re in this together” be more specific.
Companies, like TOMS, have turned cause marketing into a major part of their business model. The company gives customers a transparent view of their values AND how they are taking action. This not only resonates more, but builds more trust and customer loyalty.
So next time someone decides to have a baby reveal party, or eat an exotic animal, or anything else that might destroy the world as we know it, make sure you’re selling from the heart and not from the playbook if you decide you have something to say.
