Advice for Marketers in a Post-Capitol Siege World

By Kyle Jelinek

In the days following the siege in the Capitol, the media landscape has changed dramatically. We foretold this expanding chasm last week, and unfortunately, it’s happening much earlier and more dramatically than anyone could have imagined. Twitter and Facebook have banned a sitting president from posting content altogether, potentially losing millions in ad revenue. Amazon and Google have de-platformed Parler, essentially shutting the site down indefinitely. Right-leaning radio hosts on Cumulus who’ve doubled down on election-disputing rhetoric are at risk of being fired from their jobs unless they change their tune. And today, the House just voted to impeach President Trump for a second time! But let’s not get so caught up in the moment that we fail to see the precedent and slippery slope we may be encouraging. 

In the aftermath, we have seen multiple advertisers already distancing themselves from advertising near news and politics entirely, particularly those that lean right. Should that be your move? Possibly, but not permanently. Here are the steps marketers should consider immediately to come out of this thing alive.

Take a Short Pause

Any reader of this newsletter knows that we have long advocated to bring balance to the media and avoid cancel culture purely based on ideology. We advocate for the sponsorship of programs and platforms that enable vigorous debate and a free exchange of ideas. Aligning your brand to any particular side at this moment may accidentally signal sympathies your brand doesn’t actually hold. Media watchdogs on both sides will be on high alert to call out any perceived improprieties, and your brand may fall victim to the shaming. 

Collaborate and Consider

If you’re a client, schedule time to meet with our team to better define your plan to move forward. We suggest a simple, “Green, Yellow, Red” approach. In other words, some conversations are always permissible. Some are never. Then there’s the grey area in between, or “Yellow”. These are programs and topics that may or may not be worth engaging or sponsoring. We rely heavily on the Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart to help determine these thresholds, and focus on the Y-Axis so that we can encourage a broad range of perspectives to be explored in a public dialogue with civility, accuracy, and respect. 

Engage

Consider that one of the underlying problems in this country is that people are stuck in their echo chambers and not listening to people who hold different views. We can set a new tone with our influence over what content we sponsor. So consider starting a conversation — even an awkward one. Before you disavow a show, network, or platform, we recommend you contact them directly, share your concerns, and set clear boundaries around what type of content or discussion you are comfortable allowing your brand to support — and what you do not.  If you need mediation or a supportive third party to navigate, we’re happy to make some referrals. 

Take the Long View

If you are a regular reader of The Influencer, there’s a good chance you did not vote for the re-election of Donald Trump. However, 75 Million Americans did. You don’t have to support him or his actions, but as a marketer, it would be an unwise strategy to be careless in taking steps that seem to be entirely dismissive of the perspectives of 75 Million US citizens.  

Let’s leave retribution to others and focus on managing our situation one day at a time. You and your business have a long road ahead of you. As a brand, you have to walk a fine line between sponsoring media that will achieve your growth objectives and protecting your brand along with the values for which it stands. You have a voice, and what you choose to sponsor matters: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This is a good time to take stock of your affiliations and more clearly define where you draw the line in the balance between performance objectives and advancing content that is leading to divisions and harm.

We are here to help you do your part to accomplish your goals while strengthening and supporting your fellow citizens — and, where possible, move our nation toward healing.

• A Marketer’s Guide to Managing Sudden Influencer Controversy
• Don’t Become a Victim of the “Other” Trade War
• Should Brands Leave an Advertising Slot Because Its Show Hosts Are Problematic?
• What actually happens when ads are pulled over political controversy
• And Of Course, Our Podcast, The Divided States of Media