Should we be shaming people into doing the right thing?

 

We all know the power of peer pressure.  Research shows that 2/3 of us will conform in public.  And no one wants to be the dumb one.

 

Given the persuasiveness of those feelings and the reach of social media is it any wonder that public shaming is on the rise?

 

Perhaps it started with the Karens.  The pattern is predictable.  First the bad behavior is captured on video and posted on social media.  Then the person is identified by name.  Shortly thereafter they are fired while protesting furiously that their actions have been misunderstood.

 

Last week the law firm representing Donald Trump in his bid to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania resigned after the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of the lawyers involved were published on Twitter by The Lincoln Project.  One has to wonder how many calls and emails they received.

 

This week the advocacy group Fossil Free Media has launched a campaign targeting advertising and PR firms, designed to pressure them into discontinuing their work with fossil fuel clients.  The Clean Creatives campaign will seek to expose relationships between shops and clients that mysteriously don't seem to appear on the companies' websites and sustainability reports.  

 

They are also reaching out directly to high-profile players in the industry and running targeted ads on LinkedIn seeking people willing to sign pledges to discontinue work with fossil fuel companies. (Faw, 2020)

 

Apparently the inspiration for the campaign came from Amy Westervelt in her podcast "Drilled."

https://www.amywestervelt.com/

 

What do you think of this approach?  Does it make you uncomfortable to shame people in public?  Should people be held accountable for their actions?  What about the actions of the companies that they work for? 

 

Have you ever contributed to any advocacy groups that promote shaming?  Have you ever called or emailed someone to pressure them into doing something?  How would you feel if someone did that to you?

 

 

Faw, L. (2020, November 24)  Advocacy Group Seeks To Shame Ad Agencies, PR Shops Hyping Fossil Fuel Industry.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved November 25, 2020, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/358053/advocacy-group-seeks-to-shame-ad-agencies-pr-shop.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=120543&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI

Will this campaign from Fisher persuade Mills and Gen Z to cook with nuts?

 

Fisher Nuts, a century old company with less than 50% household penetration is attempting to boost its Millennial and Gen Z users with a new holiday campaign.

 

They believe that they can "teach new generations" to cook and bake and "remove younger consumers' nervousness around cooking with nuts." (Ellwanger, 2020)

 

Hmm.  That's a pretty tall order.  And it presumes that Mills/Gen Z are actually interested in learning to cook and bake - with nuts. 

 

The campaign features this video depicting baking as a family bonding experience shared across generations...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTMybsootXc

 

The campaign also includes cause marketing.  As this spot explains, for every #FisherTogether post Fisher will donate $30 to Meals on Wheels America...

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF28sM2IGDo

 

On the ecommerce side, Fisher is running shoppable ads on Amazon, Instacart, Instagram and Pinterest.

 

Based on what you know about consumer behavior among Millennials and Z's, do you think this campaign will be successful?  Does either of these generations cook/bake?  Do they want to start?

 

Do you think men and women are equally likely to bake?  Does it make sense to try to reach out to both genders in a single spot?  Is the spot successful in doing so?

 

Would the video appeal to either Gen Z (ages 8 - 23) or Millennials (24-39) or both?  If so, which group and why?  Would Fisher be more successful if they focused on one generation instead of both?

 

What do you think about the #FisherTogether cause marketing campaign?  Will this appeal to Gen Z?  Millennials?  Both? 

 

Will the shoppable ads have an impact?  Are the social media options suitable for the target?  What changes would you make to the selections if you were the marketing manager?

 

Finally, do you think this campaign will be successful?

 

 

Ellwanger, S. (2020, November 17)  Fisher Nuts Lures Younger Consumers With Recipes, Emotion.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved November 18, 2020, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/357891/fisher-nuts-lures-younger-consumers-with-recipes.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=120484&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI