Public Sq.
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It's inevitable in a free market that business will target their marketing to certain demographics. If those demographics happen to be political, so be it. There is no coherent principle against that. "I don't want to live in a world where business target political demographics" is not a principle, it's a preference. And the preference in that case is that we wish politics weren't a viable demographic to target, because people aren't personally identified with their politics to the extent that it would make sense to market to them based on that identity. That is a preference I share, but it's not where we are as a culture. People care about the culture war, and I think people have good reason to care. The 'both sides are equal' crowd has less and less purchase to pretend to have arrived at that conclusion thoughtfully.
@Horace said in Public Sq.:
It's inevitable in a free market that business will target their marketing to certain demographics. If those demographics happen to be political, so be it. There is no coherent principle against that. "I don't want to live in a world where business target political demographics" is not a principle, it's a preference. And the preference in that case is that we wish politics weren't a viable demographic to target, because people aren't personally identified with their politics to the extent that it would make sense to market to them based on that identity. That is a preference I share, but it's not where we are as a culture. People care about the culture war, and I think people have good reason to care. The 'both sides are equal' crowd has less and less purchase to pretend to have arrived at that conclusion thoughtfully.
It’s not a matter of saying which side is equal. I just want to be able to buy fucking pack of pull-ups for my potty training toddler without worrying about whether this retailer is promoting the sterilization of youth with mental problems or if the brand of pull-ups is pro-gun control.
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@Horace said in Public Sq.:
It's inevitable in a free market that business will target their marketing to certain demographics. If those demographics happen to be political, so be it. There is no coherent principle against that. "I don't want to live in a world where business target political demographics" is not a principle, it's a preference. And the preference in that case is that we wish politics weren't a viable demographic to target, because people aren't personally identified with their politics to the extent that it would make sense to market to them based on that identity. That is a preference I share, but it's not where we are as a culture. People care about the culture war, and I think people have good reason to care. The 'both sides are equal' crowd has less and less purchase to pretend to have arrived at that conclusion thoughtfully.
It’s not a matter of saying which side is equal. I just want to be able to buy fucking pack of pull-ups for my potty training toddler without worrying about whether this retailer is promoting the sterilization of youth with mental problems or if the brand of pull-ups is pro-gun control.
@LuFins-Dad I don't see why you have to worry about it. If a shopper wants to shop by price and quality, they can continue to do so. One's individual purchase isn't going to make a difference politically anyway.
Education is extremely important.
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Look at Miller Lite… After the Bud Light Mulvaney mess, Miller Lite puts out an add that basically says “You know, it really wasn’t great that we as an industry objectified women in our advertising and we want to try to make up for that”. All of a sudden everybody cries “Woke!” And calls for boycotts of Miller Lite… Screw that. Frankly. Miller Lite is a little right on the issue. The industry did go a little overboard and there’s nothing wrong with them trying to make up for it a little.
The Brad
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@LuFins-Dad I don't see why you have to worry about it. If a shopper wants to shop by price and quality, they can continue to do so. One's individual purchase isn't going to make a difference politically anyway.
@Horace said in Public Sq.:
@LuFins-Dad I don't see why you have to worry about it. If a shopper wants to shop by price and quality, they can continue to do so. One's individual purchase isn't going to make a difference politically anyway.
I have to worry about it because at some point some potential customer is going to say “oh, you’re not on Public Square. We’re not going to deal with you” and another customer is going to say “Oh, your company doesn’t have pride events. We’re not going to give you this school contract.”
It’s ridiculous what the left has done. The answer is not to outdo them on the right. You have a company step over your personal boundaries? Great. Boycott them. But forcing businesses to follow your exact moral compass? Screw you. And that is exactly what this is trying to do. My business is not on one side or the other. We take money to provide instruments, service, and music education. End of story.
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@Horace said in Public Sq.:
@LuFins-Dad I don't see why you have to worry about it. If a shopper wants to shop by price and quality, they can continue to do so. One's individual purchase isn't going to make a difference politically anyway.
I have to worry about it because at some point some potential customer is going to say “oh, you’re not on Public Square. We’re not going to deal with you” and another customer is going to say “Oh, your company doesn’t have pride events. We’re not going to give you this school contract.”
It’s ridiculous what the left has done. The answer is not to outdo them on the right. You have a company step over your personal boundaries? Great. Boycott them. But forcing businesses to follow your exact moral compass? Screw you. And that is exactly what this is trying to do. My business is not on one side or the other. We take money to provide instruments, service, and music education. End of story.
@LuFins-Dad said in Public Sq.:
@Horace said in Public Sq.:
@LuFins-Dad I don't see why you have to worry about it. If a shopper wants to shop by price and quality, they can continue to do so. One's individual purchase isn't going to make a difference politically anyway.
I have to worry about it because at some point some potential customer is going to say “oh, you’re not on Public Square. We’re not going to deal with you” and another customer is going to say “Oh, your company doesn’t have pride events. We’re not going to give you this school contract.”
It’s ridiculous what the left has done. The answer is not to outdo them on the right. You have a company step over your personal boundaries? Great. Boycott them. But forcing businesses to follow your exact moral compass? Screw you. And that is exactly what this is trying to do. My business is not on one side or the other. We take money to provide instruments, service, and music education. End of story.
I understand it gets more complicated as a business manager. I was only talking about the consumer side of things. I can understand resenting the whole thing if the consumers have an expectation that business play an unwinnable game of choosing sides. It's the old Michael Jordan quote about Republicans buying shoes too.
I hope that explicitly not taking sides, and being open about that choice to customers who ask, will be widely accepted by consumers. It's the least lossy strategy clearly.
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Taking on the role of the adult in the room by saying, "you know what, we're not infallible but we're making a stand by trying to be for everybody, and you can take a break from politics every time you walk in our store" might be a good marketing move. as
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Look at Miller Lite… After the Bud Light Mulvaney mess, Miller Lite puts out an add that basically says “You know, it really wasn’t great that we as an industry objectified women in our advertising and we want to try to make up for that”. All of a sudden everybody cries “Woke!” And calls for boycotts of Miller Lite… Screw that. Frankly. Miller Lite is a little right on the issue. The industry did go a little overboard and there’s nothing wrong with them trying to make up for it a little.
@LuFins-Dad said in Public Sq.:
Look at Miller Lite… After the Bud Light Mulvaney mess, Miller Lite puts out an add that basically says “You know, it really wasn’t great that we as an industry objectified women in our advertising and we want to try to make up for that”. All of a sudden everybody cries “Woke!” And calls for boycotts of Miller Lite… Screw that. Frankly. Miller Lite is a little right on the issue. The industry did go a little overboard and there’s nothing wrong with them trying to make up for it a little.
It wasn't the content of the ad, as much as the timing of the ad.
Do not surf into the crest of the tsunami.
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The good news is the Miller Lite thing went nowhere. I think the Target thing will have some legs, though. Not as deep as Bud Light, but maybe a 10% drop in sales.
The stock price is hard to pin on this. The stock price had already dropped and they had just announced another drop in sales last quarter.
