The Rise of the Everyday Ambassador

Some cohorts have seen the events of 2020 as a disruption and believe we will get back to “normal,” whereas younger generations are more likely to see these events as a catalyst for positive change. This has manifested in a variety of different ways. One of the trends we’ve seen on Trend Hunter is an increased demand for celebrities to speak out on social justice, political and environmental issues and even help to move the dial on a policy level.

Colin Kaepernick is probably the poster child of this and sparks inspiration of how brands can partner with celebrities to align to evolving consumer expectations. In 2018, Nike released its first ad featuring Kaepernick who stated, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” For Nike, this meant watching people burn their sneakers and a boycott from certain individuals. For Colin, this meant standing up for what he believed in, or in his case, kneeling for what he believed in. Kneeling was highly controversial (and still is for some), however, now just two years later, it is a far more widely accepted form of peaceful protest. We've seen "Black Lives Matter" painted on basketball courts and we've seen apologies go out from the NFL who admitted they were wrong. (It's worth noting that Kaepernick himself was not mentioned in any of their statements, unfortunately). Nike has seen success of this partnership with Kaepernick with rising sales and has continued to align itself with social justice as a key cause it's focused on.

The key to authenticity is consistency, which is why Nike has been successful on this front. Their stance and messaging against inequality has remained clear and consistent over the course of years and their level of involvement has remained consistent rather than fleeting. It didn't last for the duration of that one campaign or for a season. The 4-year anniversary of Kaepernick's first kneel on the field was commemorated by Nike with a jersey that sold out in under a minute. 

Nike’s competitor Adidas has similarly always been committed to “owning” eco-friendliness in their category and may one day soon be the defacto place to go for zero waste shoes. Their success has also been rooted in an unwavering commitment to their cause over long periods of time and setting lofty goals for their brand such as pledging to only use eco-friendly elements in their products by 2024.

Something else is happening here as well: we’ve seen a shift to the celebrization of the everyday hero. Regular folk who really run the gamut -- from 17-year-old Greta Thunberg gracing the cover of TIME to Breonna Taylor on the cover of Vanity Fair. We’ve seen frontline workers honored with Vogue covers and even toy lines celebrating their contributions.

Aside from citizens, we’ve seen politicians replacing the role of modern celebrity, with terms like “Cuomosexual” becoming a thing amidst public support of Andrew Cuomo’s reaction to the pandemic in NYC at the beginning of the crisis.

Inspiration has replaced aspiration in a lot of ways, and brands that can help consumers to become a better version of themselves will come out the other side of 2021 stronger than ever.

"58% of consumers expect brands to be a positive force in shaping our culture […] elevating those who are inspirational to others," according to Edelman.

This will help to build trust --the 2nd most important factor when it comes to purchasing other than price, which is why players like Apple are doubling down on messages like these:

Brands need to follow up their CSR programs with concrete action to not be seen as exploitive; actions speak louder than words and virtue signaling among brands is all too common. Some brands have done an excellent job on leading issues arising in their industry, such as Twitter hopping in early to combat misinformation (while others lagged behind) making sure to educate consumers in real-time of what policies they were working on and making their thought process for changes made easily accessible to their users.

Here are a few questions your brand should be answering a confident and hearty "YES!" to:

•Does your brand look at the events of 2020 as a catalyst for change rather than just a disruption?

•Does your brand help consumers to self improve and lift their mood?

•Does your brand amplify the voices of everyday ambassadors?

•Does your brand rely more on inspirational messaging rather than aspirational messaging?

•Does your brand have a clear, well-known purpose-driven mission that's easy for consumers to learn more about?

We cover topics such as the above and so many other themes at our Future Festival events, so if you're interested in learning more about shifts in consumer behavior and everything from CPG to retail, we have four virtual events upcoming in March. Tickets are 3-for-1 until February 14th.