Seasonal campaigns are a common fixture in the world of marketing. Whether it’s Black History Month, Pride Month, or Valentine’s Day, brands across many different industries develop creative ways to celebrate and engage with their audiences.
While these campaigns bring a lot of excitement and joy, they are often temporary and are usually limited to a specific time frame. But what happens after the campaign ends? After everything is said and done, it’s normal for people to get on with their everyday lives and forget the whole essence of the concept they just celebrated.
Campaigns Shouldn’t End When the Month Does
Black History Month, Pride Month—these campaigns have become a tradition in which people merely hype revocation of discrimination.
During the previous Black History Month, many B2C brands extended their campaigns to celebrate and highlight African Americans’ contributions to society—forgetting that true inclusion requires more than just marketing or awareness campaigns. This is why, even after Pride Month, the fight for inclusion continues.
Companies embrace the rainbow symbol and support the LGBTQ+ community, yet, cancel culture still persists after these extravaganzas. Rather than focusing on the awareness the campaign is designed to preach, people get caught up amidst the celebrations of ideas they don’t understand or even stand for. Since society has normalized it, they follow suit. Little wonder that everyone is wearing rainbows—but after June has long passed, the fight for acceptance continues.
Just like Christmas, where the atmosphere is never set without a Christmas tree, the presence of red, heart-shaped balloons lining the aisles of grocery or department stores radiate the aura that the season of love is around the corner.
In the same vein, Valentine’s Day has become a corporate holiday, with brands creating special promotions and offers to attract customers. While the holiday may bring in revenue, the reason for the celebration has since become questionable.
With the annual purchases that come with the festivities of February 14, sales are said to skyrocket. For example, statistics tracking Valentine’s Day sales recorded that in 2022, approximately 24 billion USD was spent during the holiday.
Businesses have made it a trend to boost advertisements with enticing love content to capitalize on this holiday and turn it into a money-making event. This is why an increasing number of people believe that Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday designed to make money.
However, amid all this noise, the meaning and spirit of Valentine’s Day remain visible. Even though it has been commercialized in modern times, the tradition of celebrating love lives on.
It would be myopic to limit a campaign to just acceptance of a particular cause and joining in the celebration of an effective awareness campaign like Black History Month or Pride Month.
Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk
In today’s working environment, sustaining the momentum of a certain cause is important. It would be sad if businesses limit their potential by promoting one cause after another, yet not show any follow-through. For example, celebrating Pride Month but not recruiting diverse people who can bring in fresh and distinct perspectives, knowledge, and know-how.
Candidates are becoming conscious of the brands they interact with. They’re increasingly looking for purpose and fulfilment in their careers, and companies that align with their values are more likely to attract and retain them.
This is why celebrating certain causes in the workplace must go beyond what’s presented on social media or billboards. Campaigns don’t have to end on the last day of the month. Campaigns, especially those that promote people’s basic rights, must be sustainable and must be sustained. Companies must continue to walk the talk and support the cause, whatever it is, in their everyday business practices.
By embodying their core values in the way they conduct business, companies can create a culture of purpose and make a lasting impact on the world.
Workplace Practices That Sustain the Cause
Embracing a cause or concept implies that differences are not to be buried. Emphasizing the uniqueness in people can and will create a mindset that understands that every member is valued. Employers, however, are the ones saddled with the responsibility to come up with structures and systems that will allow such concepts to flourish.
For example, has your company openly celebrated Pride Month?
If yes, paying attention to the staffing and recruitment process by writing inclusive job descriptions or placing job ads on large recruitment websites, LinkedIn, promoted social media, or networking groups should be seriously considered.
On this note, hiring processes with a one-sided view is a recipe for disaster. This is why engaging diversity and inclusivity experts while onboarding and managing staff is the way to go.
Action is golden. Thus, maintaining the practice of, say, promoting diversity in the workplace, is paramount to walking the talk, as it’s a highly noticeable way of showing support and acceptance to both new and existing staff.
With the rise of people’s need to satisfy their sense of purpose while pursuing jobs or while in their jobs already, it is germane to involve the expertise of marketing agencies that value and understand inclusion on every level in the staffing process.
Cliche as this may sound, leveraging agencies like this can push you in the right direction. They provide the suitable approaches and strategies needed to achieve your organizational goals while still catering to the social and emotional needs of candidates and staff.
In this woke age, a sure-fire way to ensure that all staff enjoys equal benefits, feel included, and keeping them motivated, is to show that your company believes in the things they believe in.
Times are constantly changing, and schools of thought are constantly coming up with new ideas. Employers should always be on the lookout for new causes and be ready to embrace these, if it means a more productive team.
Being more open to these things could work as a tactic to attract and onboard young talents who can bring more value to your organization.
With practice and purpose, a company can sustain and maintain thought campaigns easily and go beyond time limits, making a lasting impact by aligning their business practices with their values and purpose.
PARTNER WITH ALLIED INSIGHT TO ALIGN YOUR BUSINESS PRACTICES WITH VALUES AND PURPOSE.
At Allied Insight, we believe action is golden. With our supply of technical expertise in hiring and Staffing, you can be sure to attract and retain candidates who share your commitment to making a difference. Contact us today to learn more about our personalized staffing solutions.
References:
1. D. Tighe. “U.S. Valentine’s Day sales 2009-2023”. https://www.statista.com/statistics/285028/us-valentine-s-day-sales/. Published January 26, 2023. Accessed February 9, 2023.
2. Saul Mclead, Ph.D. “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html. published 2007, updated April 4, 2022. Accessed February 9, 2023.
3. Seattle. “All-Gender Restrooms”. https://www.seattle.gov/civilrights/what-we-do/gender-justice-project/what-we-do/all-gender-restrooms#:~:text=All%2Dgender%20restrooms%20are%20facilities,children%20of%20a%20different%20gender. Accessed February 9, 2023.
4. National Center for Transgender Equality. “Understanding Nonbinary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive”. https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-nonbinary-people-how-to-be-respectful-and-supportive. Published January 12, 2023.
