First: a $50 gift card for TMB subscribers like you.
If you aren't a Northbeam customer yet, I have good news: book a demo now and mention this newsletter in your demo, and I will give you a free $50 Visa gift card.
That's how sure we are that Northbeam will transform your business. Northbeam is a great fit for advertisers who:
- Rely on Shopify as their ecommerce platform
- Spend $100k a month or more on performance marketing
- Have complicated customer journeys across channels
We're here to help! Let's chat. Now, onto the serious stuff.
Marketing in a time of disaster
In case you live under a rock: major forest fires are raging across Los Angeles county, killing at least ten and displacing hundreds of thousands, while destroying historic landmarks, natural wildlife sanctuaries and private properties.
As we've seen with many climate change-related tragedies, there's a wave of businesses and individuals stepping up to support. The NFL pledged $5 million to support the region. MGM Resorts, a Las Vegas casino, offered $1m... and discounted hotel rooms.
MGM's offer raises a perpetual question: what should marketers do in the face of natural disasters?
While MGM is technically supporting LA refugees with this philanthropy, those rooms are not 100% free. This is still a growth vector, an opportunity to attract incremental revenue and pad brand perceptions. And if those residents happen to hit the craps tables, all the better for MGM.
MGM isn't the only potential beneficiary of this disaster. Videos of lifetime investments engulfed in flames are the best accidental UGC for home wildfire suppression systems. After the smoke clears, brands like Frontline and Ember will rake in tons of new business. Isn't such drama actually good for their business? Shouldn't their marketing teams lean into this disaster as a marketing moment, even though it's caused suffering and death?
Natural disasters create a moral, ethical, and financial paradox for growth marketers. We have a mandate to grow our businesses... but one tasteless tweet could cause public backlash against your brand for years.
How should your business respond to natural disasters? Some food for thought:
Authenticity is mandatory. Any doofus can see right through MGM's offer as at least partially self-serving. A casino being genuinely philanthropic? Gambling is the only behavioral addiction described by the DSM-5. This gesture is an advertisement capitalizing on the moment. "Running from LA and don’t know where to go? Come to Vegas."
Know what your strategy is for every piece of philanthropy. Is this sheer kindness with no expectation of reciprocation? Or is it an advertisement veiled in goodwill? On that note...
All businesses are political, like it or not. You must take a stance. There's a significant difference in implications between making a donation to LA's fire department as compared to a donation to the Ukrainian government. On which side are your customers? On which side are you? Every action your brand takes is a political statement, especially at times when all eyes are turned to the news cycle. You may be able to hide by saying nothing, but it's always better to control the narrative.
If you sell a product that solves a problem adjacent to disaster, this is your moment - but you must not look like an "ambulance chaser." This is a tight nuance to capture.
Let's use the Texas floods from earlier this year as an example. If you sell a magical widget that prevents floodwaters from destroying someone's house, this is a huge opportunity for you. Nationwide, everybody is talking about (and anxious about) floods. They are more primed than ever to buy Magical Floodwater Protection Widgets. Such buying momentum has never existed in the history of your company. Your site visitors are reaching historic levels, your SEO is popping off, and your CACs are dropping. You have to act on this - but how?
You don't need to stoke those fears, only ride the news cycle that creates them. Barratry is not the answer. This is a time to capture demand, you don’t need to generate more of it. People are already afraid, you don't need to say things like "Don't let the Texas floods happen to you! Buy our widget!" Customers will feel that you’re capitalizing on people's suffering. They will feel violated, as if you've reached from the screen and yanked on their insecurities more forcefully than they can tolerate. Fear is a powerful motivator to action, but a weak hook to drive a sale. Sell security, not fear. Selling on fear is a race to the bottom.
The safest thing to do is pump your budgets and ride the wave. As your revenue goes up, you can be morally assured that you're helping people prevent personal disasters. Your magical flood prevention widgets were made to prevent that suffering, that's the whole point. We have several brands at Northbeam who see spikes in revenue correlated with every unspeakable tragedy. But there's a catch.
This only works if you sell something that actually helps with or prevents said tragedy. Be wary of the associations you make in your advertisements. Your CBD-infused relaxation eye masks will not help people calm down from reading horrible disaster news. I've seen a lot of (huge) brands in search of new ad hooks making suspicious claims about their product benefits. This is the equivalent of the snake oil salesman at the bazaar. Humans have the natural ability to sniff out soiled things, and they can see right through your grasping claims. “Reaching” devalues your brand.
The final word: capitalizing on disaster is a tricky game. If your brand exists to prevent such suffering, it's your time to shine. Stay ethical and the cash will flow. If your brand has no legitimate association to the disaster, your customers will expect you to put your money where your mouth is.
On that note, I am using this newsletter platform to advertise the most trustworthy and reputable ways to support the LA wildfire effort:
The Red Cross is deployed en masse and always needs donations.
The California Fire Foundation is a nonprofit supporting volunteer firefighters throughout the region.
For the animals: the Pasadena Humane Society is a no-kill shelter running an Amazon wishlist and helping return or rehome lost animals.
The team at Northbeam has customers, friends, employees, and partners affected by this tragedy. You have our support, today and everyday. 💕
