In this month’s Reputation Report, our team of experts analyse the upcoming US election and the varying communications strategies of the two candidates. We also look at the renewed scandal facing Abercrombie & Fitch as well as Nestle’s decision to ditch its iconic, Quality Street plastic tub; a PR stunt or a genuine commitment to sustainability?
Trump vs Harris
Tim Jotischky, Divisional MD (Reputation)
The US election is on a knife-edge and is likely to be decided by tens of thousands of voters in a handful of swing states. Never has the accurate targeting of campaign messaging been more important.
The dilemma for both candidates is how to pitch to these key audiences effectively, calculating which messages will resonate most. More than $300m in broadcast advertising has been spent in Pennsylvania alone.
Ironically, this has been a policy-lite election; for the most part, the electorate is deeply polarised and very few voters will have changed their minds since the start of the campaign. It is an echo chamber election; you are either in the Trump or the Harris camp – there is no middle ground.
That means personalities, rather than policies, have been at the centre of the campaign. You either find Trump and his supporters “weird” or you believe “childless cat ladies” are threatening family life. Gender and colour have become defining factors.
For the most part, both candidates have doubled down, appealing to their core audiences. Donald Trump’s claim in the TV debate that immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, was immediately exposed as a lie – but in a post-truth age, conventional wisdom is turned on its head. Harris was the better debater, but did she win the debate? Trump wanted to put immigration front and centre because he believes it’s his strongest card and he did that by conjuring up a memorable, if entirely fictitious, image.
Ultimately, the catchphrase coined by Bill Clinton’s advisor, Jim Carville, generally rings true: “It’s the economy, stupid”. In the seven swing states that will decide the 2024 election, it might be the decisive factor. Harris is pitching “the opportunity economy” versus Trump’s protectionism, but her association with President Biden’s lacklustre economic record may count against her if the undecideds buy into Trump’s bombast.
Whatever the result, the most frightening outcome is the irrevocable breakdown of the democratic consensus. One in four Americans believe the election result could lead to civil war, according to a recent poll. That should give us all pause for thought.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Neil McLeod, Divisional MD (Corporate)
Walk into any Abercrombie & Fitch company today it will be a vastly different experience compared to the stores which grabbed so much negative attention in the earlier part of the 1990s and 00s.
Stepping inside, past the poster pin-ups guarding the front door, resulted in an assault on the senses. Dimly lit, with house music pumping and the waft of A&F cologne thickening the air, most people would be forgiven for wondering if they were even wanted there.
The “models only” image worked to a degree, but it was hated. Following new leadership at the company – originally founded in 1892 – the past decade has seen the brand move away from the controversial marketing to something more modern, progressive, inclusive. Voted the US’s most hated retailer in 2016, it went onto become the top performing Wall Street Stock in 2023.
Of course, the company now has a new, more serious fight on its hands. Its reputation is again firmly in the spotlight as its old image comes back to haunt it following serious allegations of the exploitation of young men levelled at ex-CEO Mike Jeffries and his British partner Matthew Smith. Both have been arrested and charged in the US with running a prostitution and international sex trafficking business.
A&F has outlined its horror at the allegations of its former boss. Last year it hired external lawyers to conduct a review following the initial BBC investigation which revealed the allegations made by several young men.
But the connection of the brand name to such serious allegations in its history, in an age of overnight cancel culture, means it will have to fight tooth and nail to protect its reputation. A detailed plan, consistent messaging, picking key moments, careful stakeholder engagement and ensuring the new faces of the brand are known, not just in the US but globally, will be vital.
Relying on its new image will not be enough if it is not to be seriously harmed by allegations linked to its previous one.
Nestle, Quality Street and the end of the plastic tub
Mimi Brown, Head of Corporate
But where will I store my bits and bobs??
The iconic quality street boxes are effectively heirlooms. The metal design has been revamped into plastic, and now this year into paper – recyclable in household waste.
So, is it a genuine initiative ahead of a bigger commitment around lowering virgin plastic use and improving recycling rates? Or a comms ploy ahead of their peak season…
The limited run of 200,000 paper tubs in Tesco stores have been positioned as a ‘test and learn’ phase for the brand to get feedback – a vital part in many a big production change commitment. The cynics our side wonder if it’s all a bid to outrage consumers and effectively save the plastic one, but Nestle did stick to their paper wrapper switch despite backlash from social and national media – and experimentation and ambition are often the starting point for genuine ESG progress.
That said, virgin plastic is a BIG issue, but paper isn’t always less polluting. Given the long lifecycle of the much-loved Quality Street tub, I wonder if a tub amnesty or quality street refill stations would in fact be more effective: re-use not recycle! I’d certainly be grabbing mine from the back of the cupboard.
Let’s wait until the Spring and hope for some honest comms about the success of this novel ESG initiative.