The Age of Radical Transparency: Welcome to Your Newest Marketing Strategy
Trust in brands has been eroding over the last few years.
millennials lead the way for brand skepticism.
Beware of this article. It will make you question your brand thoroughly.
Times in which you concede what it is that you actually need – yes, life-changing and paradigm-shifting, but guess what? The same is happening to the consumer of your brand.
Note the word “strategy.” Often used in marketing, yet derived from war. Carrying a meaning in which one is to outsmart the other. No wonder the consumers’ trust in brands has been eroding over the last few years. According to a McKinsey report, millennials lead the way for brand skepticism, with 52% stating that always research for background information before buying. Baby boomers and Gen Z’ers coming in at 41% and 45%, respectively. These are pre-pandemic numbers. Distrust, or seeking for true understanding, of the clothing one consumes is only going to go one way – up. Drastically at that.
In a Forbes interview, Marie Driscoll, Managing Director of Luxury & Fashion at Coresight, noted the beneficial effects the pandemic has had on the environment, and how consumers are noticing as well. She also stated that “a bigger group of investors are asking about sustainability, which means that Wall Street cares about sustainability.” Why would Wall Street care about sustainability? Because it notices a strong shift in the consumers’ views on fashion at large. Shifts at large affect money at large. Thus, it behooves them to “care” about sustainability.
© Richard Bush
A consumer world in which a brand like Patagonia is an outlier will very soon become a thing of the past. Their radical transparency since the brand’s inception, and their handling of the pandemic consequences, only stokes the fire in brand loyalty. One should recall their “Don’t Buy This Jacket” full page ad during 2011 Thanksgiving season, outlining reasons for which consumers should reduce their shopping, reuse old items, and recycle. This only managed to increase their sales in the following year by 30%. Nevertheless, the brand’s intention was to truly educate, receiving the increase in sales as a happy byproduct of honesty, not the other way around.
Other brands such as Rag & Bone, are also attacking the harsh reality with equally harsh truths. One of their founders, Marcus Wainwright, penned a letter to their customers outlining the state in which the company finds itself, and the reason for the price decrease, all while urging the customers to also buy only what they need.
As stated at the top of the article, however, beware. Some “mission-driven” companies, like Everlane, found themselves in quite a predicament. After riding the boom of their “radically transparent” platform and reaping the benefits, they were called out by none other than Bernie Sanders for virtue signaling, while laying off or furloughing 290 people from their customer service team, in an alleged attempt to “use the pandemic to union bust.” The company has been profitable, doubling in sales each year, according to its CEO, as reported by the Fast Company in 2018. Yet, in his response to Senator Sanders, Michael Preysman wrote that “We are not profitable and do not have a cash balance.” It was “the hardest decision we’ve ever made,” adding “doing everything we can to retain our team and survive.”
So, think about it - are you merely projecting honesty for the sake of the profit? Because when you signal those values, your audience will hold you to that standard. Reevaluate your brand’s values, forsaking the financial aspects. What is the core? Follow it thoroughly and consumers shall too.
