September 18, 2012
Election Time Drivers
Flip Flop Shops, a retail franchise with more than 60 locations, last week became the latest retailer or brand to seek to capitalize on election fervor by releasing a limited edition Obama/Romney Flip Flop line.
The flip flops don the faces of both political candidates and seek to make light of their propensity to flip-flop on major issues. Providing its own guess into the coming election’s outcome, each week Flip Flop Shops will report a poll on the company’s Facebook page showing which candidate is leading based on purchases. For every pair sold, Flip Flop Shops will donate $1 to the U.S. Treasury.
"This is a fun way to call attention to the fact that both these candidates go back and forth on major issues," said Brian Curin, Flip Flop Shops’ president, in a statement. "We’re also helping lower the national debt — if the government can’t do it, at least Flip Flop Shops can help."
7-Eleven, for the fourth consecutive presidential election, is encouraging consumers to vote at its stores by selecting specially-marked coffee cups, blue for President Barack Obama and red for former Gov. Mitt Romney. (Regular "nonpartisan" cups are also available.) Based on the purchases, a coffee poll is viewable on a micro-site to provide another prognosticator of the election’s outcome. Past 7-Election poll results have virtually mirrored real election results. 7-Eleven’s president and CEO Joe DePinto said in a statement, "We have had a lot of fun with it, and I hope we have encouraged people how important it is to vote in the real election."
Others playing the political game:
Maker’s Mark Bourbon is running an ad featuring James Carville and Mary Matalin, the famous political couple, throwing their support behind, "The Cocktail Party." - Boston Market has set up a micro-site to encourage consumers to vote either "Left Wing" or "Right Wing" based on their favorite bird — turkey or chicken — in support of its new Market Bowl. Voters get a BOGO coupon for a Market Bowl and a fountain drink.
- FedEx Office, formerly Kinko’s, has a TV spot lampooning the extremes two local politicians looking to discredit the other.
- Urban Outfitters has long sold sold t-shirts, some irreverant, and other merchandise around presidential candidates in the past. This year it reached an agreement with Comedy Central for items tied to the "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report."
- Politics Are Brewing at 7-Eleven – 7-Eleven
- 7-Election 2012
- 7-Eleven, Boston Market, Maker’s Mark get political with ads – USA Today
- 7-Eleven’s 7-Election Obama/Romney Coffee Poll is Surprisingly Accurate – Brand Channel
- Maker’s Mark Bourbon "Makes It’s Mark" on the 2012 Elections – Makers Mark
- Makers Mark – The Cocktail Party – YouTube
- Boston Market Encourages America to Get Out and Vote – Boston Market
- Market Bowl Poll – Boston Market
- Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert Get Exclusive Merchandising Deal With Urban Outfitters – Business Insider
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do retail promotions and politics mix? Should other retailers and brands capitalize around election fervor? What political messages are safe to embrace?
Poll
Why not? Politics has become a media spectacle, akin to the Olympics or seasonal marketing. The Flip Flop shop promotion is brilliant, mocking politics in a party-neutral way. A perfect fit with their light hearted products and beachy fun positioning. Bet they get great social media play with the effort!
The key for major retailers is finding an appropriate way to tap into election energy without making too strong a political statement. The line between humor and alienation is fine in politics. 7-Eleven’s coffee cups walk that line extremely well.
American people have long sported their views via “badges” such as bumper stickers, shirts, and hats. Walk any city street or drive any highway and you can get a pretty clear picture of just about any human!
If I’m a retailer, of course I want in on this long-standing trend. Smart retailers, including many mentioned in this article, create options that let consumers make choices without going too far in polarizing one group versus another.
As a voter, I totally want a pair of those flip flops! Very clever idea.
Promotions and politics mix only if they are honest to goodness funny and without meanness.
When founders/owners bring politics into their enterprise or product, things inevitably go bad. I stopped getting pizza at Pappa John’s because of John Schnatter’s blaming the President for increased health care cost as the reason for an increase in the price of a pizza, when most of it hasn’t even taken effect yet. Somehow he managed to keep it quieter than the Chick-fil-A episode. Still my advice is ‘shut up and make pizza’.
I think it comes down to brand image — does it fit or not? All of the examples above work for those brands. And, I’d like to point out, they are by their nature sort of inclusive, in that they allow both sides to express themselves (where’s the marketing to independents, though? — I suspect Boston Market would have a hard time finding a wing to go with that one). I contrast that with the brouhaha over Chick-fil-A, where the political stand became something divisive. If that’s where your target market lies, and you don’t care about what anyone else thinks, then great. Otherwise, I think the cautionary tale is in making sure that you don’t unintentionally alienate a market segment you may or may not know about.
Instead of asking the question, “Do retail promotion and politics mix?” why not ask “Why won’t retail and politics mix?” They are both about packaging and marketing.
In today’s world, don’t take a stand because if you do, some group will be against you.
I think creating some levity around some of the inherent “insanity” of the political campaign system is not only a smart idea, but perhaps it will cause some of the nastiest of ads from both camps to be lampooned to the point of marginalizing them, which is what most of these attack ads deserve.
Obviously those who engage in these politically based promotions should refrain from taking sides. It should also go without saying that specific political issues, particular social issues, should not be addressed or be the reference point. We are a divided country and advocating one candidate over another is very likely to alienate half of your customer base. But my “vote” is bring on the promotions. Shoppers need to be reminded that voting and staying involved in the process is a privilege that many in the world do not enjoy.
Retail promotions and politics can mix if it is kept bipartisan and fun. 7-Eleven is a perfect example of this with their coffee cup polls. This is done tongue-in-cheek and they do not show support for one presidential candidate over another. These are timely promotions with the upcoming election and a way for consumers to have fun and show support for their candidate while it’s a great marketing opportunity for retailers which will hopefully boost their revenue. As long as the promotions stay away from taking one side over another, it can be a win for the retailer or brands.
If done in a bipartisan way, politics and retail promotions can be used very well together, as the 7-Eleven cup promotion shows. The key is to not promote or pander to one political party, regardless of whether you think you know your customer base or not. There is no point in turning off or alienating a certain percentage of your client base in the long term for a short-term promotion.
Politically-themed promotions are timely and can garner a great deal of press, especially as you announce your ongoing results with the media. People love contests and showing which candidate’s product is outselling the other is an ideal way to gain attention and traffic.
Keep it simple.
Keep it fun.
Keep it bi-partisan.
When taking advantage of political issues is within the customers’ perception of the retailer’s brand DNA, it can be a hit. If not, the retailer just looks opportunistic, if not just plain silly.
Keep these promos coming! Everyone just needs to lighten up a bit. Political correctness has gone way overboard. If these messages continue, my hope is that we all just learn to get along… at least a little better than we do now.
No. This is fun. Short and sweet. Most people don’t do their purchasing because of a political position or message that it embraces. Instead, we are still looking at the product, place, promotion and price factors that are the key drivers behind a product’s marketing message and strengths.
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Why not? Politics has become a media spectacle, akin to the Olympics or seasonal marketing. The Flip Flop shop promotion is brilliant, mocking politics in a party-neutral way. A perfect fit with their light hearted products and beachy fun positioning. Bet they get great social media play with the effort!
The key for major retailers is finding an appropriate way to tap into election energy without making too strong a political statement. The line between humor and alienation is fine in politics. 7-Eleven’s coffee cups walk that line extremely well.
American people have long sported their views via “badges” such as bumper stickers, shirts, and hats. Walk any city street or drive any highway and you can get a pretty clear picture of just about any human!
If I’m a retailer, of course I want in on this long-standing trend. Smart retailers, including many mentioned in this article, create options that let consumers make choices without going too far in polarizing one group versus another.
As a voter, I totally want a pair of those flip flops! Very clever idea.
Promotions and politics mix only if they are honest to goodness funny and without meanness.
When founders/owners bring politics into their enterprise or product, things inevitably go bad. I stopped getting pizza at Pappa John’s because of John Schnatter’s blaming the President for increased health care cost as the reason for an increase in the price of a pizza, when most of it hasn’t even taken effect yet. Somehow he managed to keep it quieter than the Chick-fil-A episode. Still my advice is ‘shut up and make pizza’.
I think it comes down to brand image — does it fit or not? All of the examples above work for those brands. And, I’d like to point out, they are by their nature sort of inclusive, in that they allow both sides to express themselves (where’s the marketing to independents, though? — I suspect Boston Market would have a hard time finding a wing to go with that one). I contrast that with the brouhaha over Chick-fil-A, where the political stand became something divisive. If that’s where your target market lies, and you don’t care about what anyone else thinks, then great. Otherwise, I think the cautionary tale is in making sure that you don’t unintentionally alienate a market segment you may or may not know about.
Instead of asking the question, “Do retail promotion and politics mix?” why not ask “Why won’t retail and politics mix?” They are both about packaging and marketing.
In today’s world, don’t take a stand because if you do, some group will be against you.
I think creating some levity around some of the inherent “insanity” of the political campaign system is not only a smart idea, but perhaps it will cause some of the nastiest of ads from both camps to be lampooned to the point of marginalizing them, which is what most of these attack ads deserve.
Obviously those who engage in these politically based promotions should refrain from taking sides. It should also go without saying that specific political issues, particular social issues, should not be addressed or be the reference point. We are a divided country and advocating one candidate over another is very likely to alienate half of your customer base. But my “vote” is bring on the promotions. Shoppers need to be reminded that voting and staying involved in the process is a privilege that many in the world do not enjoy.
Retail promotions and politics can mix if it is kept bipartisan and fun. 7-Eleven is a perfect example of this with their coffee cup polls. This is done tongue-in-cheek and they do not show support for one presidential candidate over another. These are timely promotions with the upcoming election and a way for consumers to have fun and show support for their candidate while it’s a great marketing opportunity for retailers which will hopefully boost their revenue. As long as the promotions stay away from taking one side over another, it can be a win for the retailer or brands.
If done in a bipartisan way, politics and retail promotions can be used very well together, as the 7-Eleven cup promotion shows. The key is to not promote or pander to one political party, regardless of whether you think you know your customer base or not. There is no point in turning off or alienating a certain percentage of your client base in the long term for a short-term promotion.
Politically-themed promotions are timely and can garner a great deal of press, especially as you announce your ongoing results with the media. People love contests and showing which candidate’s product is outselling the other is an ideal way to gain attention and traffic.
Keep it simple.
Keep it fun.
Keep it bi-partisan.
When taking advantage of political issues is within the customers’ perception of the retailer’s brand DNA, it can be a hit. If not, the retailer just looks opportunistic, if not just plain silly.
Keep these promos coming! Everyone just needs to lighten up a bit. Political correctness has gone way overboard. If these messages continue, my hope is that we all just learn to get along… at least a little better than we do now.
No. This is fun. Short and sweet. Most people don’t do their purchasing because of a political position or message that it embraces. Instead, we are still looking at the product, place, promotion and price factors that are the key drivers behind a product’s marketing message and strengths.