{"id":8012,"date":"2024-06-27T17:17:35","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T17:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tup.kxe.temporary.site\/how-to-market-in-the-age-of-outrage\/"},"modified":"2024-06-27T17:17:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T17:17:35","slug":"how-to-market-in-the-age-of-outrage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdesign.ca\/en\/how-to-market-in-the-age-of-outrage\/","title":{"rendered":"How to market in the age of outrage"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Welcome to the age of outrage, when even the most innocuous ad risks becoming a culture war casus belli<\/em><\/a>. Tonight\u2019s presidential debate will draw attention to the national political campaigns for another highly divisive election \u2014 which will make brands\u2019 already tough situation even worse. By now marketers may feel like they\u2019re trying to ride a pogo stick across a minefield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very sensitive time for brands because it can be very polarizing no matter what position you stand for,\u201d Adam Ortman, founder and president of the Kinetic319 agency, told MarTech.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s to be done? The answers from both veteran marketers and the latest polling may surprise you.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re moving away from an era of creativity to an era of safety,\u201d Jeff Levick, CEO of We Are Rosie, a talent marketplace for advertising and marketing, told MarTech. \u201cI don\u2019t believe that\u2019s what consumers are looking for. I think that\u2019s what a niche number of consumers are looking for, but unfortunately, their voice is very loud and brands have become very afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the past two years, there\u2019s been a significant drop in Americans who want to hear from brands about current events. In 2022 48% of U.S. consumers said businesses should speak up, according to a Gallup poll. Last year it was down to 41%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some things are more political than others<\/h2>\n

Not all current events are created equal though. Gallup found Americans were most supportive of companies discussing climate change (55%) and mental health (52%). They were overwhelmingly opposed to them taking public stands on religion (15%), political candidates (19%) and abortion (26%).<\/p>\n

More than half (54%) of people in the U.S. buy, choose or avoid brands because of politics, according to a the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer<\/a>, up from 52% last year.<\/p>\n

And a huge number of things are considered political. Here\u2019s Edelman\u2019s list of the percent of U.S. consumers who found these brand actions to be political:<\/p>\n