Behold the Power of the Boycott - Part 2

I read recently that boycotts don't work because people forget about them fairly quickly and revert back to their original behavior before too long.  Since Myers-Briggs tells us that 70% of people live in the moment that makes sense.

But those of us old enough to remember the civil rights movement and the Montgomery bus boycott know that sometimes boycotts do work.  It just depends on how passionate their supporters are. 

Grab your wallet is a case in point.  As I noted last summer, thanks in part to its over 2 million followers, 22 companies have dropped the Trump brand, the Manufacturing Council disbanded and Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties experienced multiple event cancellations. (Kramer, Paletta & McGregor, Dangremond, 2017)

Now it's time for a fall update.

In November, Trump Soho became the second hotel to drop the Trump name, after first closing its restaurant and then dropping room rates.  Government records show that losses have more than doubled at the two Trump golf courses in Scotland, and business is down at the courses in Los Angeles and NYC.  (Associated Press, 2017)

Last week, Nike - Trump's biggest and most lucrative tenant, announced that they were breaking their lease on their flagship Niketown store and moving to a new location down the block.  (Green, 2017)  Perhaps their decision was influenced by the 72,000 people who signed a petition from Courage Campaign asking them to do so. (Dua, 2017),  

And today, CityRealty released a report showing that the average price for Trump-branded condos is $2.6 million, below the Manhattan wide average of $3.1 million, for the first time. (Trangle, 2017)

Clearly some boycotts do work.  And brands need to take note.

Here's a link to the previous blog...

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2017/08/behold-power-of-boycott.html

Kramer, M. (2017, June 4) Grab your wallet, boycott Trump and participate in “A sprawling landscape of resistance” salon.com  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://www.salon.com/2017/06/04/boycott-trump_partner/

Paletta, D. & McGregor, J. (2017, August 16)  Trump’s business advisory councils disband as CEOs abandon president over Charlottesville views. washingtonpost.com  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/08/16/after-wave-of-ceo-departures-trump-ends-business-and-manufacturing-councils/?utm_term=.5a27053930d9

Dangremond, S. (2017, August 18)  Eight Charities Have Canceled Their Mar-a-Lago Galas This Week.  townandcountry.com.  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a12033310/mar-a-lago-charity-fundraisers-canceled/

Associated Press. (2017, November 22)  Trump SoHo hotel to drop 'Trump' name amid reports of slow business.  foxnews.com.  Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/11/22/trump-soho-hotel-to-drop-trump-name-amid-reports-slow-business.html

Green, D. (2017, December 7)  Nike is leaving its iconic Niketown property — and the fact that Trump owns it is reportedly a factor. scmp.com.  Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2123308/nike-leaving-its-iconic-niketown-property-and-fact-trump-owns-it

Dua, T. (2017, August 17)  Nike is under fire for 'supporting' Trump.  businessinsider.com.  Retrieved December 13, 2017, from

http://www.businessinsider.com/an-online-petition-is-calling-for-nike-to-stop-supporting-trump-2017-8

Trangle, S. (2017, December 13)  'Trump effect' on condo prices?  amNewYork. p A5.

Behold the Power of the Boycott.

Last week was a big week. After  3 out of the 5 honorees for the Kennedy Center Honors announced that they would not be attending , and the other 2 indicated they were likely to follow their lead, President Trump announced that he would not attend.  Wow. 

So it seems to be a good time to look again at the power of @grabyourwallet and @slpng_ giants.

1. As of the beginning of June, Sharon Coulter founder of grabyourwallet, reports that 22 companies on the list have dropped Trump products, and the grabyourwallet website has 2 million unique visitors each month. (Kramer, 2017)

2. Breitbart, the favorite target of sleeping giants, has lost 90% of its advertisers in two months, and visitors have declined by 53% since November.  Click-through rates on the site are a dismal 15%.  (vs. 32% for the New York Times)   (Bhattarai, 2017)

3. The exodus from the Manufacturing Council started with Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier and quickly escalated, so by the next morning 6 CEOs had resigned.  Then Sleeping Giants took up the cause, and tweeted the names and contact information for the remaining CEOs. By the next morning the group announced they were disbanding.  And the Strategy & Policy Forum followed suit.  The Infastructure Council was abandoned before it was even started. (Paletta & McGregor, 2017)

The Council for the Arts, which was comprised of Obama appointees, quit the next day too.  (Hipes, 2017)

4. Then Sleeping Giants began tweeting the names of charities who intended to hold their fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago, and singling out their directors, with names and photos. It's a moving target at the moment, but as of yesterday, 16 charities had canceled.  Since Mar-a-Lago makes $100K - $275K per event that has to hurt.  (Dangremond, 2017)

5. On Monday a New Jersey chapter of the United Way canceled its scheduled event at Trump's New Jersey golf club.  One imagines they will not be the last to do so. (Shelbourne, 2017)

6. Meanwhile, Trumps' attacks on CNN have really done wonders for the network.  Their ratings in second quarter 2017 were their best since 2003.  (Kruzel, 2017)

7. And the "failing New York Times," clearly isn't, as they gained 93,000 subscribers in 2Q, and revenues were up 9% versus year ago. (Ember, 2017)

Money talks. And boycotts work.  Expect to see more.

Kramer, M. (2017, June 4) Grab your wallet, boycott Trump and participate in “A sprawling landscape of resistance” salon.com  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://www.salon.com/2017/06/04/boycott-trump_partner/

Bhattarai, A. (2017, June 8)  Breitbart lost 90 percent of its advertisers in two months: Who's still there?  chicagotribune.com  retrieved August 19, 2017, from

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/national/ct-breitbart-advertisers-20170608-story.html

Paletta, D. & McGregor, J. (2017, August 16)  Trump’s business advisory councils disband as CEOs abandon president over Charlottesville views. washingtonpost.com  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/08/16/after-wave-of-ceo-departures-trump-ends-business-and-manufacturing-councils/?utm_term=.5a27053930d9

Hipes, P. (2017, August 18) Another Presidential Council, This One Focused On The Arts, Quits On Donald Trump.  deadline.com.  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://deadline.com/2017/08/donald-trump-presidential-committee-on-the-arts-and-humanities-quits-1202151717/

Dangremond, S. (2017, August 18)  Eight Charities Have Canceled Their Mar-a-Lago Galas This Week.  townandcountry.com.  Retrieved August 19, 2017, from http://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a12033310/mar-a-lago-charity-fundraisers-canceled/

Shelbourne, M. (2017, August 22) New Jersey charity pulls out of event at Trump golf club. thehill.com. Retrieved August 22, 2017, from http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/347419-new-jersey-organization-pulls-out-of-event-at-trump-golf-club

Kruzel, J. (2017, July 3)  Trump’s Pants on Fire claim that CNN ratings are ‘way down’.  politifact.com retrieved August 19, 2017, from  http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jul/03/donald-trump/trumps-pants-fire-claim-cnn-ratings-are-way-down/

Ember, S. (2017, July 27)  New York Times Reports Strong Quarter on Digital Revenue Growth.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved August 19, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/business/new-york-times-company-2q-earnings.html?_r=0