Freedom can mean many things. And with July 4 approaching, after a year of societal turmoil, many Americans may find their views on patriotism shifting. Pew Research Center says 39 percent of U.S. citizens feel “mostly proud” of their country. Half feel “often proud,” but also “often ashamed."
With many Americans attempting to understand political differences and social injustices, as well as reeling from economic strife and the loss of 600,000+ COVID-19 patients, it can seem difficult for a flag graphic or fireworks message to resonate. Savvy consumers will notice a brand simply ignoring societal issues, or even worse, delivering false statements of support to make a profit.
So how can brands and organizations recognize the nation’s independence while remaining sensitive to polarizing social, political and economic issues? Like any good campaign, it’s about honesty, authenticity and integrity, as well as understanding your audience.
Consumers are Watching
If anything, July 4 allows brands to embrace freedom, to show audiences what they truly care about, support and believe. A new survey by Iterable, a cross-channel marketing platform, shows 71 percent of consumers feel positive toward a brand after receiving a social or political marketing message, and 62 percent claim that brands verbalizing their views establishes greater trust.
So, in looking at those numbers, it seems as though more citizens accept, and sometimes even expect, brands to take a stand on issues affecting their consumers.
“The July 4 holiday is an opportunity for brands to practice authenticity to connect with their customers in a more genuine and meaningful way,” says Nicole Brites, strategic customer success manager at Iterable. “How? By communicating with empathy and sensitivity on the social issues that consumers are passionate about, as well as expressing their own beliefs and values. Brands can tap into the sense of community and purpose that customers may share during this holiday.”
Essentially this means PR professionals should not ignore the events of the past year and go out with traditional July 4th messaging.
“Because national sentiments have changed, [communicators] need to find thoughtful and authentic ways of contributing to the greater conversation about where there is room for improvement in this country,” Brites says.
And it seems there was a dedicated effort from brands to speak out on social issues in 2020 that has continued into 2021. A brand trust survey of marketers from February found that more companies issued public statements about racial inequality (47 percent) than public health (40 percent) in 2020. It’s no wonder that 79 percent said brands plan to continue campaigns with messaging on one or more social issues throughout 2021.
Also an overwhelming 87 percent of consumers said they’re more receptive to messages if they know the company’s beliefs and values, according to the Iterable survey. Respondents also said knowing a company's beliefs and values makes them:
- feel more trust toward it (62 percent)
- better about to know its authentic identity (44 percent) and
- better able to believe its purpose (34 percent)
“With consumers holding brands accountable for their values and actions, it’s important for brands to prioritize ethics and morality year-round in order to build trust with customers,” Brites says.
‘Made in USA’ Impact
Research proves that another form of messaging, the “Made in America” label, can promote a positive reputation and profits.
A research study conducted by the University of Chicago published in March, “Do 'Made in USA' Claims Matter?,” shows consumer demand declined when product packaging and marketing materials removed the “Made in USA” claim. Demand rose when Made in USA was present. This shows buyers care about making informed decisions when considering the origin of products, an act of patriotism in itself.
“We focused our attention on four brands, which included Gorilla Glue, Loctite glue, Gorilla Tape and Tramontina cookware,” the researchers said. “For three of the four brands, the removal of the information had a negative impact on sales. Tramontina cookware saw a 19.5 percent decline in weekly store sales. Loctite glue experienced a 6.1 percent decline. And Gorilla Glue suffered a 1.9 percent decline.”
In addition to the study of those four brands, the researchers ran a field experiment on eBay, conducting more than 900 auctions over three months, varying only whether a product was advertised with or without the “Made in USA” claim.
Again, it made a difference. Researchers found auction transaction prices were 28 percent higher with the “Made in USA” claim, indicating that sellers have more incentive to display the information.
So messaging can create some initiative toward patriotic feelings and action, even if it has yet to provoke an economic movement to bring overseas manufacturing back to the U.S. It’s inspired some foreign sellers to utilize fake “Made in USA” messaging—something brands need to monitor.
“While the increase in sales is not sufficient to justify the economics of relocating manufacturing operations to the United States, it is enough to incentivize some firms to engage in making improper and deceptive country-of-origin claims,” the researchers said.
Nicole Schuman is senior editor for PRNEWS. Follow her @buffalogal