Branding the Bad to do Good?

Controversy is certainly no stranger to the case of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old Miami teen who was fatally shot last month by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. The incident inflamed racial tensions across the nation and spawned countless rallies, a civil rights probe, and even a comment by President Obama about the case. It’s also given rise to an equally contentious practice—productization of the tragedy.

From tee-shirts to trademarked slogans (e.g., “Justice for Trayvon”), would-be entrepreneurs are popping up hoping to convert calamity into cash. Having bought two trademarks, even Trayvon’s parents are participating, although they’re quick to clarify that in their loss they’re trying to gain something beyond spending money—cash for a cause to help other families struck by tragedy.

Does a profit motive behind the commercialization of a catastrophe in any way negate a brand’s worth? Many branding experts say no. The best brands are meaningful, they explain, and what can be more meaningful than showing solidarity and commiserating with like-minded people? They conclude by asking “isn’t that what wearing Trayvon buttons and hoodies are all about?”

It’s an interesting though provocative question, and one without a clear answer. What do you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Comments

[Robert Loggins]

I believe that we should do all things with purpose and be willing to accept the relative range of consequences (both positive and negative) from the actions that we choose to take. So, with that, I think that its okay to grab the momentum from the Trayvon Martin shootings. However, firms must be careful not hiding their true intentions. The lines are drawn on some of the issues and if your brand ends up on the other side of the issue you could isolate your constituency. This is such a subjective issue and it really depends on where a brand of firm stands currently and where they want to do. Ambiguous answer to a good question that begs thought.

[Akhil]

They are difficult quieostns indeed. Nowadays, social media brings an equal opportunity for everybody who wish to brand themselves and/or their products online. It is a challenge for anyone to blur the line between advertising and branding or as Annette said personal and professional . I recently joined some social networks and learnt quite a lots from the members. Mostly, people don't pay attention to advertising information but interesting notes, valuable information, or interesting debates. I also don't believe that people will read all comments/recommends on linkedin, Retaggr profile or other online profiles which I saw some people have many. People will know you base on how you communicate and contribute to the community that you joined. May be it isn't right with some other networks but that is what I've experienced so far. Personal branding do need a strategy. It's not only writing an attractive profile, having nice design and we can be standout. I think it is also a long process as well. Seth Godin is a great example. His daily notes have sometime over 1000 tweet and retweet directly from his blog. Imagine how many people reading his notes each day. The key is that he doesn't write about himself, sometime he writes a short note about his new books. I think he is very successful in branding himself and his books using social media.