Why are you saying that?
So, first things first, today is International Women’s Day, and I am massively on one. Not just a little bit of anger, but a full-on ginger rage, and the more the day goes on, the worse it’s getting… Why?
Marketing… and the fact that we can change the world or make it a bit twee, a parody even. With IWD, I feel like we’ve fully landed on the latter.
Let’s do some history before we get into the meat of this one!
International Women’s Day originated in the socialist movements of Europe and America. Women first got together to protest around the start of the 1900s in America. The movement quickly spread to Europe, where protests mainly occurred in Communist countries but spread elsewhere.
By the 1960s, the second wave of feminists had taken over the baton, and by the early 2000s, this protest had become a marketer’s dream.
If we skip to today, we have two definitions of what it is about, one from the UN and one from Aurora Ventures.
Confusing? You bet.
Before we discuss this further, I want to clarify that I support the right to protest, equal rights for everyone, and more. But I don’t like that this has become a marketing ‘thing’, and this is why I have an issue with awareness days in general!
So, what do I mean by that?
Well, there are tonnes of businesses out there who are using IWD to shout about how wonderful they are. They’re celebrating women and going all in with the marketing messages. But what if you dig a little deeper? Are they practising what they preach (albeit for 24 hours), or are they just paying lip service to an idea that looks good?
The same goes for mental health awareness days, LGBTQ+ days and more.
The problem with this is that it eventually dilutes the message.
Of course, I want equality; I want to be paid the same as my male counterparts, and of course, talking about it helps. I get that. But I also feel that there can be a lot of bandwagon jumping and hollow words to get likes and clicks.
I promise there is a point to this.
This is all about your brand’s ethics, ethos or whatever you want to call it. It’s about what you want to stand up for and how you want to be counted in the world.
This isn’t just about awareness days, though these are an excellent example of where brands can go off on a tangent at best and, at worst, can be really off the mark.
Perhaps this doesn’t feel so massive for those of us who run smaller businesses or sole traders, but I would argue that we still need to consider this. We need to know what we stand for, our purpose, and who we are trying to reach. By knowing that, we can stay much more on target with our marketing messages and, as such, make our lives easier!
Want an example? What about me and my business?
So my whole purpose with The Hive Mind Company is to make the unheard feel heard.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that I am about supporting the people who feel they don’t have a voice. I do this with radical honesty, hence this blog post, but I also hold your hand. I take you places you may not want to go. But I make sure you always get home safe. Sometimes that means that I have to tackle the bullshit that exists in the marketing world. Sometimes the conversations are not easy, but I am prepared to have them so that you get a clearer picture of what you need and you don’t fall into the trap of selling your soul to get your message across.
So before I take myself off to lie in a darkened room, I want you to think about what you really stand for.
I stand for not marketing for the sake of it; I am completely against once-size-fits-all marketing, and I absolutely do not believe in telling you how to run your business. Oh, and I like to swear a lot and have conversations that other people often shy away from.
What is your thing?
If you want to get some help around what you stand for and how you market that in your business, then please get in touch. I currently have space for five new clients, and I would love it to be you!
