Yesterday’s email about piggybacking on hot news topics (like Will Smith slapping Chris Rock) sparked a lot of questions…
But one question in particular came up over and over again…
“Isn’t it a bad idea to attach yourself to something so controversial?”
Good question.
My opinion is that every business should have their own tolerance for how much controversy they’re willing to endure.
For example…
PETA and Donald Trump immediately come to mind as people that love controversy.
Now, the fanbases of Trump and PETA couldn’t be further apart in terms of who they are…
Yet, they both LOVE controversy…
PETA routinely posts disturbing videos of animals in slaughterhouses, animals being abused, and even humans dumping fake buckets of blood on people who wear fur.
This is all controversial…
It brings them eyeballs…
And it ultimately brings them donations (which is what they want).
And same thing goes for Donald Trump.
In the past, Trump has said degrading things about women…
He’s insulted Mexicans…
And even made fun of American war heroes…
And despite the backlash he gets, he keeps doing it.
Why?
Because to him, any press is good press.
He likes turning on the news and seeing people talking about him.
So he’ll say controversial shit all day long.
So both PETA and Trump are great examples of how to use controversy to your advantage.
Now on the other side of the coin…
Some businesses have NO interest in controversy.
One that immediately comes to mind is Delta Airlines.
Any controversy involving Delta would NOT be good for their brand.
Why?
Because it’s an airline.
And with airlines, people really care about safety and security.
Nobody wants an “edgy” airline.
We want pilots wearing pilot suits…
We want the flight attendants to look professional…
So for Delta, almost any controversy would be a bad thing.
All you have to do is look at their Instagram account to see this.
Everything on their IG is quite vanilla.
It’s pictures of happy people on the beach…
Friends skiiing in Colorado…
Romantic getaways…
That’s what they’re about.
They have no interest in being brought into a controversy like Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.
It wouldn’t help their brand.
And most likely, it would hurt the brand.
So there ya go…
That’s my thoughts on using controversy in your marketing.
Controversy can work wonders…
And it can bring you a lot of eyeballs (Youtuber Jake Paul is a prime example of this).
But it’s not for everyone.
So you need to figure out what your tolerance is for controversy…
And whether or not it will actually help your brand.
Make sense?
I hope so.
Cause that’s all I got for ya today…
Enjoy your Tuesday,
– Justin
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Note: Here’s something that’s NOT controversial…
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Then I suggest giving this a read and seeing if it’s for you…
-> Mentor under Justin & Stefan
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