There’s a presidential election — likely the most consequential of our generation — this week, have you heard? (If you’re eligible: Vote. Please, please vote.) As the world braces to once again live through history, fashion brands, retailers, publicists and marketers are grappling with how to operate during this time.
There are a million stress-inducing reasons why things may not go smoothly on Nov. 5 and in its immediate aftermath. At the same time, November is a critical time for consumer brands, marketers and retailers whose holiday sales make up a significant portion of their annual business. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday falling at the end of the month, followed by December’s continued holiday sales efforts, companies are under immense pressure to start getting shoppers’ attention early. (It’s no accident that holiday campaigns seem to roll out earlier and earlier each year.)
Fashion and beauty brands are faced with a number of questions: What are the best practices when it comes to navigating marketing efforts during such a crucial time? Should they pause their advertising and communications for the week and risk missing out on an opportunity to engage consumers? Do they proceed as usual, political climate be damned?
The week before the election, Fashionista polled those in the industry on their strategies for Nov. 5 and beyond. Nearly 50 respondents participated — mostly publicists, but also marketers, brand founders, CEOs, social media managers, communications directors and corporate advocacy and activism managers working for fashion and beauty brands, PR agencies and retailers. They shared how they plan to join in on the political conversation in meaningful ways, determine whether to take their foot off the metaphorical marketing gas pedal, and apply lessons they learned in similarly fraught past election years (looking at you, 2016).
Election Day strategy
As far as their plans for marketing, social and comms on Nov. 5, 47% of respondents report that they will be “pausing all communications for Election Day to start,” noting that they will also continue to monitor the news and “play the rest of the week by ear” as things pan out.
“Everyone is aligned on pausing,” says Erin Hawker, a publicist at Agentry PR. “This is one of the most important elections of our time, and we want attention focused on people voting and paying attention to real-time news.”
The second largest group of respondents, 23% stated that they had “no plans to pause or alter comms in any way, but will determine whether it feels necessary to do so in real time.” Other approaches included 5% of respondents who plan to pause communications solely on Election Day (with no prior plans to do so beyond Nov. 5), and another 5% who said that they would be “incorporating election messaging into election-day content,” but had no plans to put things on hold.
“I think it’s important that brands pause communications the day of [the election] because it’s just a sensitive day,” says Audrey Steele, a fashion publicist and the founder of Steele PR. “[We] want to make sure customers are feeling like they are cared for rather than just shoving more content down their throat on such an important day.”
A handful of those polled are preparing other individualized tactics, like one anonymous in-house beauty publicist who is planning to “holding all major comms for a few weeks.”
Of course, not everyone feels it’s worth losing out on that valuable time. “Communications is all about long-term strategy….We would have already planned around the election, so there would be no need to alter or pause communication,” says Rick Schwartz, a beauty publicist at DripComm. “If PR is done correctly, it should be with proper planning for the months ahead. Pausing causes loss of momentum. Consumers still need to purchase beauty products, even during election week.”
Post-Election Day approach
In the days that follow the election, the majority of respondents — 70.8% — reported that they have “no plan to pause communications during election week after Nov. 5 as of now, but will determine whether it feels necessary to do so in real time.” Some respondents (8.3%) noted that they plan to pause all communications for all of election week, while an equal percentage reported that they will not pause or alter comms after Election Day, “no matter what.”
“We are advising clients to pause or slow unrelated owned and influencer content, scheduling around the week, and our agency will limit media outreach the day after to only critical or topical items,” says Lauren Larkin, executive vice president, beauty at Alison Brod Marketing and Communications. “From there, we will evaluate post election sentiment and conversation to determine the content and outreach plan for the remainder of the week, the week following, and beyond.”
The importance of nuance and being ready to pivot
For some agencies who work with a variety of clients, this isn’t a one-size-fits all strategy moment: There’s nuance as to which brands they advise to alter (or not alter) their marketing plans.
“[We are recommending that our clients pause] all product/brand news, and if the brand doesn’t authentically communicate on political issues, then [we’re] recommending pausing [communications on Election Day and] playing the rest of the week by ear,” says one anonymous PR agency respondent. “If they are vocal on politics, they can use their platforms authentically.”
Many PR agencies are also putting their regular editorial pitching efforts on hold for the week, understanding that editors may not be open to receiving pitches about lipstick in the immediate aftermath of the election. “If chaos ensues, that will really be the only thing anyone is interested in anyway,” says Randi Packard, an independent fashion and beauty publicist. “Pitching might just seem tone-deaf.”
While most client-facing respondents note that the brands they work with were aligned in their guidance about pausing or being otherwise mindful of election week plans, some agencies and consultancies report tricky conversations or even butting heads with clients on the matter: “I begged my client to not open a pop up shop running from Nov. 7 to 10 and to push it back to the following week,” shares one publicist who prefers to remain anonymous. “Alas, they decided to move ahead with their scheduled opening and I told them I will do the best I can based on the country’s climate post-election.”
Demographics are another consideration. “Geographic locations also play a huge role in what the community’s response will be, so being flexible and adaptable is key. While one thing may result in NYC continuing on, that same result may cause a full stop in Texas,” says Emily Maldonado, a beauty public relations specialist at Giant Noise.
Above all, brands should be paying attention and ready to pivot agilely, stresses Beth Bassil Argueta, a publicist and the founder of Bassil & Co. “Beyond the election, I think the year of 2020 taught everyone that the media landscape and news cycles can change in an instant. Brands and publicists need to be prepared that their strategy, a new launch or events could be affected and out of our control. We need to be okay with shifting the game plan in a short-notice time.”
An anonymous beauty marketer aligns with this view, and has therefore prepared for a variety of possible scenarios: “We’ve prepared multiple versions of our marketing materials, allowing us to shift direction as needed,” she says.
What responsibility do brands have when it comes to politics?
As is often the case during major social and political events, the question of how involved and vocal fashion and beauty entities should be seems to also be top of mind.
“There was a time when brands across the board stayed out of politics. Many still do, and I think those that choose to stay out of it are not only cowardly, they are missing a huge opportunity and glossing over a huge responsibility,” says Bryn Kenny, a publicist at MBA Partners, LLC. “Consumers have the right to know what the brands they’re buying stand for so they can choose whether to support them or not. The ‘I rarely talk politics’ excuse is no longer legitimate. As citizens, we have a responsibility to talk politics, and to care about them, to fight for what we believe in.”
“Election Day has always been important, but it has taken on a whole new meaning since 2016,” Kenny adds. “I think many people who may have been apathetic to politics in the past are now realizing that politics can be life or death, particularly with Trump in the mix….I’ve noticed a few other industry friends only post to their ‘close friends’ group when posting about politics, and I totally understand why. But in the end, I feel strongly that I should use whatever platform I have to be vocal about what matters. If a professional contact disagrees with my politics, then we probably shouldn’t be working together. Especially at this point in time.”
“I had a long conversion with a brand founder who was initially set to launch a new product on Nov. 1, and we both strongly agreed that there are way more important things going on in our country right now…as a female founder, it [was ultimately] more important to allocate her social platforms to urging people to vote and educating them on the issues that particularly involve [women],” says Teona Ostrov, beauty and fashion publicist and the founder of Teona Ostrov Public Relations. She and her client agreed it would be best to hold the product launch until after the holidays. “My stance is that this election is much more important than any beauty product — those can wait!”
Lush Cosmetics, which bills itself as a “campaigning company” focused on advocacy surrounding “people, animals and the planet,” considers political engagement crucial to its brand ethos — and its marketing reflects that. “While we won’t be pausing on comms, we will be continuing to uplift the Vote for Our Futures campaign, which underscores the importance of civic engagement to support a strong and healthy democracy,” says Carleen Pickard, Lush’s advocacy & activism manager. “We are continuing this campaign right up until election day…with Vote for Our Futures pop up events.”
Lessons from 2016 and 2020
Having lived through the rollercoaster of the last two presidential elections, brands and marketers have gleaned plenty of insights about best practices, the potential for emotional whiplash and what consumers are really looking for in times of political uncertainty.
“In those years, we learned the importance of flexibility in communication plans, particularly around the uncertainty of timing and outcomes, which often led to heightened emotions and market shifts,” says a beauty marketer who prefers to remain anonymous.
The ghosts of 2016, in particular, linger. “Previously we may have been a bit naive to how these races have penetrated all industries — even fashion, even food and beverage,” says Maldonado. “So while there may not have been any plans or pause factored in before, it’s something we strategize around and advise clients on ahead of time [now].”
“Starting in 2016 and escalating in 2020, we saw that the reaction to the election’s results and resulting news cycle carried well beyond the voting and election timeframe and required a reactive approach to communications management, particularly on social media,” says Alison Brod’s Larkin. “Guiding our clients in navigating communications strategies amidst local, national, and global news has become an essential focus.”
Of course, publicists, marketers and brand executives are humans, who may need to take a moment to manage their own emotions during and after the election as well. “I think it’s important to remember that we… all might need a minute following the election to digest whatever the outcome is,” says Bassil Argueta. “At some point we will need to resume to business as usual, but let’s not forget that we can take a breather during important times like this election.”
Source: Fashionista.com
