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08 Feb

Lessons Learned from 84 Lumber’s Super Bowl Fail

nancy pekala Brand Social Responsibility, Brand Strategy 0 0

84 Lumber got it wrong on Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, the brand got it really, really wrong.

For the first time in its history, 84 Lumber, a $2B building materials company, entered the Super Bowl ad competition to build brand awareness as it looks to expand its operations in the US. Their entry was a controversial but impactful commercial detailing the emotional immigration journey of a Hispanic mother and daughter looking for a new life in the US. At the conclusion of their long journey, they are momentarily devastated as they come face to face with a large wall separating the two countries. However, soon they are relieved as they spot a large door in the wall built by US workers allowing them entrance into the land of the free. As they push open the door, the tag line “The will to succeed will always be welcome here.” appears on the screen.

It just doesn’t get any more clear that that. Obviously, 84 Lumber set out to make a statement about who they are as a brand, what they believe in and what they stand for. Right?

Not so fast. Amid an onslaught of criticism from anti-immigration critics, the brand’s CEO Maggie Hardy Magerko now has publicly stated that the commercial was NOT intended to be pro-immigration. Indeed, she stressed that her brand is pro-Trump, pro-wall and anti-immigration. She has stated that the advertisement, at its core, “was meant to attract new, young employees” for her growing business and to generate new customers while “stimulating the housing market.”

Ad agency Brunner, which filmed the spot in Mexico, suggests that the commercial’s message is one of patriotism. Chief Creative Officer Rob Schapiro explained that “The intention is about opportunity.”

“Huh?” said every viewer watching the commercial However the brand chooses to spin it post-launch, this evocative commercial turned out to be one epic #BrandFail. It serves as a manual for all brands in how NOT to execute your brand voice. Spending millions of dollars on your first-ever Super Bowl ad which is a clear representation of exactly opposite of who you really are as a brand is just wrong.

It has left consumers wondering exactly who 84 Lumber really is. Is it the Super Bowl version that believes in the immigration experience where the will to succeed is rewarded? Or is it the fallout version where the brand’s CEO clearly states her beliefs are the exact opposite?

The brand did create a memorable ad but for all the wrong reasons. In one fell swoop, 84 Lumber succeeded in antagonizing both those for and against the immigration experience and leaving everyone wondering the same thing: “Who are you and what were you thinking?”

As the conversations and controversy continues to swirl, it is useful for all brands to be reminded of the lessons 84 Lumber unwittingly served up:

1. Know who you are.
Dust off those brand identity and voice PowerPoints and revisit who you say you are. What value attributes define you? What is your identity message for consumers?

2. Be clear about your goals for taking a political stand.
If you are going to rise up and take a stand for some social issue in this political climate, make sure it aligns with who you say you are. Be prepared for a backlash and the consequences that might mean for your business.

3. Be consistent.
Don’t do one thing and say another. Make sure your brand actions and communications in all channels are uniform and consistent with your brand identity.

4. Make sure everyone’s on the same page.
If you’re aiming to make a splash to garner some attention with a high-profile content message, make sure your entire team is in alignment in terms of messaging, execution and promotion.

5. Define a clear point of view.
Whether it’s climate change or pay equity or diversity, make sure you have clearly defined your brand’s position on the issue. Craft messaging that effectively supports this position and do not stray from it if consumer response is not what you expected.

6. Understand you can’t be everything to everyone.
When you choose to take a stand on a social or controversial issue, keep in mind that your efforts will attract both supporters and critics. Be prepared to respond to critics while maximizing opportunities for new brand advocates.

Increasingly, consumers will be looking to brands to demonstrate their ability to drive social change. To do so in a meaningful way, brands must craft messaging and content that effectively communicates their values and beliefs.

08 Feb

Brands Rise Up to Stand Out in Super Bowl 2017

nancy pekala Brand Social Responsibility, Brand Strategy, Super Bowl Ads 0 0

This year, a few brands took the Atlanta Falcons’ rallying cry “Rise Up” to heart and significantly changed up their approach to the annual Super Bowl competition for blockbuster ads. Their entries stood out in stark contrast to the frequent slapstick silliness and bikini-clad messaging of years past. Instead, brands like 84 Lumber, Audi, Kia, AirBnB and Coca-Cola used their big buck Super Bowl ad dollars to make a strong statement (often a political one), rise up and stand out from the pack.

Those hoping for a respite from the country’s increasingly volatile political climate were sorely disappointed. Like it or not, agree or note, the current political climate is forcing brands to take a long, hard look at themselves and decide what they stand for and to what extent they want to publicly communicate their positions on social issues that normally don’t fall within the purview of the CPG world.

A Shift in Super Bowl Ad Strategy

While many applauded this approach, others levied criticism against the brands for being too political or using the Super Bowl platform to communicate messages about issues unrelated to their CPG brand or inconsistent with the entertainment format of the day.

Brands who maximized the large Super Bowl audience to communicate meaningful messages about who they really are and what they stand for helped signal the continuing rise of the political brand.

It is said that you will never rise to your full potential by being all things to everyone. Those brands that are insistent on trying to be all everything to everyone will find it difficult to remain neutral in this current political climate. Increasingly, consumers are judging brands by what they stand for, separate and apart from the CPG products or services they offer.

Rise of the Socially-Minded Brand

The fact is that corporate values matter. According to results from a recent Havas Worldwide study, more than half of Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers make a point to know more about the companies that make the products and services they use. Boomers are even more likely than Millennials (81% vs. 70%) to agree that companies have a responsibility to do more than just generate profit, and more likely to agree (83% vs. 70%) that companies have an ethical obligation to operate in a way that does not harm the environment.

Significantly, more than 7 out of 10 of the survey respondents agree that it’s important for a company to drive social change. This supports results from the recent Edelman Trust Barometer in which 80% (up from 74% last year) of general population consumers worldwide agreed that a company can take specific actions that both increase profits and improve the economic and social conditions in the community where it operates.

The Havas survey confirms that taking a stand on social issues is good business for brands. Nearly two-thirds of consumers surveyed in the Havas Worldwide report are more likely to buy from a company that is doing good things for the world.

Audi Takes on Pay Equity

One brand that took on a social issue head on in its Super Bowl commercial was Audi. Its ad, “Daughter”, features a father narrating the story of his young daughter successfully racing against a bunch of boys in a soapbox derby race. The pointed message comes through via the father’s voiceover: “What do I tell my daughter. Do I tell her that her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom? Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets? Or maybe I’ll be able to tell her something different.” The ad concludes with a message on the screen about Audi’s commitment to pay equality: “Audi of America is committed to equal pay for equal work. Progress is for everyone.”

Audi isn’t just talking the talk. In its press release about the “Daughter” ad, the brand touts some of its own initiatives, including a graduate internship program in which 50% of enrollees must be female, and its partnership with the American Film Institute’s annual “AFI Fest” event to create an Audi Fellowship scholarship program that grants one promising female director enrollment in the AFI Conservatory.

But the brand also doesn’t shy away from its shortcomings. Audi noted in a pre-launch interview that just 12% of Audi of America senior management is female—only 2 of its 14-member executive team.

In the ad, Loren Angelo, vice president of marketing for Audi of America, acknowledged that the brand’s goal was to deliberately speak to America emotionally about this issue which is a clear focus for the company.

Kia Focuses on the Environment

Kia was another brand that focused on a social issue in its Super Bowl entry that zeroed in on climate change and the environment. The brand combined humor using comedian Melissa McCarthy to demonstrate the importance of being an “ECO warrior.” As the song “We Need a Hero” plays in the background, McCarthy jumps from one environmental crisis to another to save the day. From saving the whales to preserving trees to reversing the effects of melting snow caps, the ad serves to make a statement of the importance of protecting the environment.

Brand Messages on Diversity and Immigration

Some of the most controversial of this year’s ads centered around brands which made deliberate statements around the issues of diversity and immigration. 84 Lumber created an impactful, emotional ad which told the story of a Mexican mother and daughter making the journey to the United States. At the conclusion of their long journey, they are momentarily devastated as they come face to face with “the wall”. However, soon they are relieved as they spot a large door in the wall built by US workers allowing them entrance into the land of the free. As they push open the door, the tag line “The will to succeed will always be welcome here.” appears on the screen.

Budweiser took a more sentimental approach to its ad by telling the story of its immigrant co-founder, Adolphus Busch, who makes his way from Germany to the United States by boat in order to make his dream of brewing beer a reality. Supported by the tagline, “When nothing stops your dream.”

Still others, like AirBnB and Coca-Cola, used impactful images of a diverse group of people to make a statement about its beliefs about key social issues such as diversity, inclusion and immigration. Using the hashtag, #WeAccept, AirBnB’s ad sought to create messaging about acceptance of differences in others and the value of diversity. Coca Cola released an earlier ad comprised of a montage of images representing a wide variety of Americans with the simple reminder that “Together is Beautiful”

Ultimately, these brand approaches to messaging served as a reminder that brands will increasingly need to rethink their identify and define who they are and what they stand for. The rise of the socially-minded brand is here to stay. It’s time to brush off those brand identity and voice PowerPoints and revisit the true message you are trying to communicate about your brand. It means brands must clearly identify their unique point of view, map their position back to their core organization values, be consistent in communicating those values in all channels, recognize that they cannot be everything to everyone and take risks in creating bold, empathetic and emotional stories that resonate with today’s consumers who are interested in understanding at a deeper level the companies supplying the products and services they are supporting.