Pure Public Relations founder, Phoebe Netto, joined the Mumbrella team to discuss the sanctions and moves by brands in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, including how advertisers and marketers can be more sensitive and sincere in their approaches.
During the Mumbrellacast episode, Phoebe explains how in order to avoid value signalling, brands need to put themselves in the shoes of the armchair critics and prepare to be open for immense scrutiny. Have you missed opportunities to do the right thing previously? Is this in line with your values? Do people even know your brand’s values?
“People can smell that inauthenticity a mile away,” she said. “So they need to scrutinize the brand to avoid becoming social justice warriors that have just jumped on a bandwagon.
“Then they need to look at how they can support an issue in a way that fits with the brand. So is there actually something meaningful that their particular product or service, or brand proposition can align with that’s relevant to the cause?
“So for example, are the floods in Australia something that you can make a difference on? How can you actually align it to something that’s unique about your business?
“It goes a long way to reducing the perception of this being a short term token gesture and something that actually fits with the ethos of your business and something that customers will actually support you with. They’ll come alongside you and be part of that process, so it actually then has a longer term benefit for the brand and the cause.”
Listen to the episode in full below, or wherever you get your podcasts.
