What is ‘outrage marketing’?

I don’t even know if it’s the right term, but I’m sure some advertising executive has a snappy catchy term for this guaranteed way to get the media’s free coverage, and the public talking about your product.

Let me give you an example:

In 2018, a certain brand of tissues was struggling. Income was lower than usual, and jobs were being cut. 5000 is a significant loss for any large company.

Now, turning any company fortunes around takes a massive advertising budget, and can finish a company off. But in the days of social media, getting the right post to go viral can be priceless.

So what do you do to ensure that something goes viral?

You go big, and you attack your own brand.

Claiming to have had ‘complaints’ you make your own company look like a victim of ‘woke’ culture.

And then you sit back, and let it begin.

You’ll get free adverts.......

.....and more free adverts.......

.....from all the usual ‘we are disgusted’ peddlers

And if you are lucky, you’ll go global.

Literally all over the world.

But surely, this is negative?

Don’t be silly.

Firstly, no publicity is bad publicity, as they say.

But remember, the brand has made their self the victim here, and the usual comments sections will fill with the rallying cries of ‘snowflakes’ and ‘you can’t say anything!’

The comments will flood in in support of you.......

......page after page of support......

People who don’t realise they are being played will shout their disgust at anyone who will listen...

.....one after another.......

You get the picture.

All that lovely free advertising leads to sales. Angry red faced people will go out and buy your product to show the ‘woke’ fools that they have control and will not be governed by the offended.

But how can they buy a product that was stopped in 2018, I hear you ask?

It wasn’t, it’s still available today, and doing rather nicely on the back of a snotty pandemic and panic buying of tissue.

So why do I mention it?

Because it’s happening all the time and threatens to derail the true message of many worthy causes, and we need to do our bit to make sure that voices are not drowned out by fake outrage.