Brands treading a fine line when congratulating Trump

New Balance Thumbnail

 New Balance

(marketingmagazine.com.my) – By: Malati Siniah

Upon the announcement of Donald Trump coming to power as the 45th President of the United States of America a movement has been initiated online by Twitter users using the hashtag #TwitterBlackout. In protest of the election results twitter users have been changing their user profile to black.

Several celebrities including singer Katy Perry, who has been a vocal supporter of Clinton, has joined the movement online.

Speaking to Adweek on the issue Assaf Henkin, SVP of Amobee Brand Intelligence Solutions shared, “Changing a profile image in support of one cause or another is a simple action, but brands and marketers have to think about authenticity when they consider engaging in these kinds of social media movements,” he remarked. “Does it fit the brand? Is it going to alienate or help support your audience in a way that’s in alignment with the brand’s values?”

Assaf’s advice is proven to be wise, as athletic apparel company New Balance found out after announcing its support of Trump’s Presidency.

New Balance’s VP for public affairs tweeted and told a WSJ reporter Wednesday that until now, the company has felt like President Barack Obama has “turned a deaf ear” to its concerns — and that Donald Trump will ensure things move in the “right” direction with his presidency.

Upon hearing the news the brand has suffered severe backlash with netizens posting videos of them burning and throwing away their New Balance Shoes

In response to the backlash the brand recently posted up the following comment on its Facebook page:

 

mmc2016 speakers fullV2Will you Sink or Swim in 2017?

Back in its 12th year, the Malaysian Media Conference is set to take a deep dive into the world of DATALYTICS!

From understanding data touchpoints and improving customer experience to how brands and agencies can fuse data with their creative executions.

Look forward to a full day of case studies and real-market experiences from the following speakers:

• Linda Hassan, Head of Marketing – Domino’s Pizza Malaysia & Singapore
• Rahul Thappa, Vice President of Data Analytics, Astro
• Sujith Rao, Senior Director – Digital Analytics at IPG Mediabrands
• Chan Woei Hern, Executive Creative Director, EnsembleWW
• Bala Pomaleh, CEO, IPG Mediabrands
• Teeradet Dumrongbhalasitr- Head of Commercial, Asia Pacific Dunnhumby
• Anser Aly – Senior Global Brand Manager, Unilever Asia
• Lars Setsaa – Head of Revenue Management and Analytics – Digi Telecommunications

Those are just the tip of the iceberg, on the MMC stage, you will also hear latest innovations from Twitter, Unilever and more!

Download the full programme here

Date: 14 November 2016
Time: 08:30am – 06:00pm
Venue: The Grand Ballroom, Sime Darby Convention Centre Bukit Kiara

Interested in joining or sponsoring the event? Contact: [email protected]



MARKETING Magazine is not responsible for the content of external sites.




Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates in the marketing and advertising scene