Episode Details

We ask the question - is social activism by brands virtue-signaling or tone-deaf marketing? Listen now!

Main Takeaways:

• Woke-washing has become more and more prevalent in today's economy, where social awareness is a major selling point.

• Are there ways to be socially conscious without completely being dedicated to a cause or movement?

• Woke gatekeepers are the first to point out how brands are deviating from their message, even if those brands are putting in the extra work to remain socially conscious.

• Is it possible for a discount store to also be ethically sourced?

The Woke Debaucle: Setting the Record Straight:

• To set the record straight, Phillip and Brian clarify that they indeed know what "woke" means (do they though?) despite coming off as a Baby Boomer and Gen Xer, respectively.

• Just a short while after the episode on woke commerce dropped, there was an article posted on woke-washing.

• Phillip thinks that there is something about this particular time of year that leads to brands using patriotism and socially conscious messaging as part of their marketing.

• There was another article recently that said that woke-washing is beginning to infect the advertising industry due to brands running purpose-driven campaigns, but failing to take real action.

Real-World Examples: How Do You Do "Woke" Right?

• "If you are highlighting something that you do to your customers for a specific cause or issue and highlight that yourself as part of your marketing, that is not very woke."

• Brian and Phillip refer back to Patagonia, whose customers and typical customer persona does not always match up to Patagonia's political views.

• Patagonia is an excellent example of a company that would rather lose some business in pursuing something right and just as opposed to just focusing on financial gain.

• Phillip bets that there are very few businesses that can claim that they genuinely favor social or environmental benefits as opposed to money.

Levels of Wokeness: Is It All or Nothing?:

• Brian questions if a brand needs to be dedicated entirely to a social cause to be authentic.

• Phillip refers to the opening line of the woke-washing article that brings up "razor company talking about #MeToo and a burger chain tackling depression".

• Do you think Burger King was commenting on mental health with their Real Meal Campaign and did this make them woke?

• Brian proposes changing the terminology to "social awareness commerce." (And there were cringes to be had by all from this statement.)

• Phillip brings up Emily Singer's newsletter called Chips + Dips that talks about really cool things in the direct-to-consumer world, but more specifically

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