Is "woke baiting" the next great marketing strategy?

"Could it be that the "anti-woke" movement has become so organized and influential that brands are now building strategies around it? If we've reached that point, then "woke-baiting" could emerge as a cheap but effective way for companies with stagnant growth to draw attention and change their fortunes. Anti-woke people increasingly seem to vote with their dollars more than "woke" people. We just saw it go down with Cracker Barrel in August."

"Anti-woke people did the same thing when Budweiser featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in its ad. The company lost an estimated $27 billion over this. Or consider Target reporting its first quarterly sales drop in 6 years after the 2023 anti-woke response to the retailer's Pride clothing collection. The company has faced extended struggles with the CEO recently resigning and the stock down 37% in the last year."

Organized anti-woke sentiment is influencing consumer behavior and prompting brands to consider strategies that provoke or appeal to that audience. Woke-baiting can serve as a low-cost marketing tactic to generate attention and potentially revive stagnant growth. Several high-profile cases show measurable market impacts: a Cracker Barrel logo change prompted political criticism and a notable stock drop; Budweiser faced losses after featuring a transgender influencer; Target experienced a quarterly sales decline following an anti-woke backlash to a Pride collection. Anti-woke consumers increasingly vote with their dollars, creating both risks and opportunities for brand strategy.

Read at Fast Company