Recently, Chick-Fil-A has been making the news again and not for its delicious chicken sandwiches. Chick-fil-A’s President Dan Cathy caused controversy when he stated that his company backs the traditional family unit when asked about same-sex marriage. Many decided to boycott Chick-fil-A after this statement. But are the opinions of the company president the same as the product’s brand? Read more about this story on CNN.
In comparison, many women don’t appreciate the overtly sexist approach used in GoDaddy’s advertising campaigns but may still buy the company’s products due to their value compared to other companies providing similar products. Is it effective to boycott companies whose presidents don’t share the same values as you? I believe consumers do consider a company’s values when making a purchase and if they feel strongly about the issue they will probably decide to shop elsewhere.
Chick-Fil-A has always shown a strong Christian influence in the way they run their company. From their commitment to staying closed on Sundays to scripture quotations in their marketing materials. Their president’s anti same-sex marriage stance is also popular with many conservative Christians. Whether it matches your beliefs is for you to decide.
An issue that is also likely to drive customers away is defending a brand image at any cost. Such as, when Chick-Fil-A went after a folk artist who sells t-shirts with the slogan “Eat More Kale”. Chick-Fil-A has an ad campaign that advises people to eat more chicken with the aid of cartoon cows and cute misspellings. They were concerned that people would be confused by Bo Muller-Moore’s t-shirts and their brand would be compromised. You can read more about it in this article from the New York Times.
I’ve been following Bo Muller-Moore’s EatMoreKale.com on Facebook and keeping up with his battle with the big corporation. I think Chick-Fil-A should stop picking on him. We certainly know more about him now than we would have if Chick-Fil-A left him alone. This is helping build his brand and making Chick-Fil-A look like a bully.
