Sunday, April 8, 2018

Laura Ingraham - Advertising Boycott or Company Brand Management?


On the heels of Laura Ingraham's return to the air on Monday, others in the media world are calling the advertising "boycott" Un-American as everyone has a right to free speech under the first amendment. )  See the article and interview - https://wapo.st/2qghgnM )
What's amazing is talk show hosts, etc. don't get it. Yes, everyone has the right to free speech but the issue isn't free speech. The issue which advertisers have is brand management. When you align your brand with someone or something which clearly doesn't support the values of your company most companies have no issue in cutting the advertising cord. Liken this to firing of an employee who doesn't embrace a companies standards of ethics -- just take a look at all of the sexual misconduct charges being made and the responses by companies -- they fire people.
Why stick with a particular show if it doesn't align with your brand? There are soooo many media choices available to reach your target audience. Why stick with someone who has become toxic? As a former Media Director who bought millions in advertising I invested those dollars to generate sales and build a brand. It's strictly business.
Do advertisers come back? Some might. But why? Unless you want to align your brand with the host and the messages they send there isn't a reason to stay. Just switch the advertising to another program or network -- it's as easy as a phone call.
By the way the folks in media companies that do understand the alignment of a brand are those in Media Sales and Media Company Executives. I'm sure they've all been on the phone with their clients trying to get the dollars back.
If you want to see my earlier post on this subject it can be found at: https://bit.ly/2IEoIk3
Scott