Friday, February 17, 2017

All boycotts and bumps are not created equal.



According to @grabyourwallet, @resistance controls 2/3 of the wealth in this country.  I'm not sure where that figure came from, but given the success of both the @grabyourwallet and @slpng_giants boycotts it certainly appears that this group has the financial strength to back up their promises.

Thanks to an ill thought out bullying attempt, Nordstrom's released data that indicated sales of Ivanka Trump products dropped 70% in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of October.  Wow.  Overall the brand was down 32% for the year.  (Gottfried, 2017)

LL Bean had flat sales in 2016 and is currently seeking a 10% headcount reduction.  (Anderson, 2017)  Uber and Under Armour are tripping over themselves to try to back track on their earlier support of  Trump.

On the other hand, Hamilton is still sold out, and Starbucks doesn't seem to have lost any momentum.  I guess you can't boycott something you never bought in the first place.

Fox News, up 35% in January 2017, (Katz, 2017)  is benefiting from Trump support, but CNN's audience is up 38%.  (Katz, 2017) and the "failing" New York Times, added more subscribers in the last three months of 2016 than all of 2015  (Rodriguez, 2017)  Saturday Night Live is having its best year since 1995, and Colbert is now beating Fallon in the late night wars.

In terms of the "Trump Bump," i.e. the effect of his tweets and comments on brands, it's a mixed bag.  Early comments negatively affected various industries, but Nordstrom's stock rose 4% on the news that they would no longer carry Ivanka Trump products. (Calfas, 2017)

I am reminded of the expression - "May you live in interesting times."  It's actually a curse you know.


Gootfired, M. & Kapner, S. (2017, February 11)  Internal Nordstrom Data Show Sales Decline for Ivanka Trump Brand.  wsj.com.  Retrieved February 17, 2017, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/sales-of-ivanka-trump-footwear-apparel-fell-32-at-nordstrom-last-year-1486814580

Anderson, C. (2017, February 9)  L.L. Bean offers retirement buyouts to trim workforce by 10%.  pressherald.com.  Retrieved February 17, 2017, from http://www.pressherald.com/2017/02/09/l-l-bean-offers-retirement-buyout-to-trim-workforce-by-10-percent/

Katz, A.J. (2017, January 31)  January 2017 Ratings: Fox News is No. 1. For 15 Consecutive Years.  adweek.com.  Retrieved February 17, 2017, from  http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/january-2017-ratings-fox-news-is-no-1-for-15-consecutive-years/319139

Katz, A.J. (2017, January 31)  January 2017 Ratings: CNN Ranks No. 2 Across Cable News.  adweek.com.  Retrieved February 17, 2017, from

Rodriguez, A. & Mejia, Z. (2017, February 3)  Thanks to Trump, the New York Times added more subscribers in three months than all of 2015. qz.com.  Retrieved February 17, 2017, from https://qz.com/901684/thanks-to-trump-the-new-york-times-added-more-subscribers-in-three-months-than-in-all-of-2015/


Calfas, J. (2017, February 8)  Nordstrom stock gains over 4 percent after Trump tweet.  Retrieved February 17, 2017, from

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great article. Thanks.