Pull advertising for Political reasons?

No easy answer to this. If it came down to business or personal principals I would like to think I'd go with principals. But then again, I've never been tempted with a big enough prize for compromising.

I think you need to make a business decision. If advertising on that site is starting to cost you more than you earn, it is time to pull the plug. And you don't want to wait until you see the effect on the bottom line. Anticipate rather than react--if you can sense the momentum of the boycott is going to have a negative impact, don't wait.

There has been a lot of press on this topic this week. Rush said something that didn't jive with some groups and advertisers got threatened. Some caved. Some did not.

Any business that advertises on a controversial show, like Rush or Stern, must know some topics will not sit well with some folks. If you pay money to support a show that thrives on controversy, then why would you pull your ads when the host says something controversial?

On the other hand, if the show (or web site) does something or supports something that is out of whack with your personal beliefs, you have a decision to make. Did they do what they did to further enhance ratings or are they on a mission to do something immoral?

Some organizations use the threat of boycotts as nothing more than a publicity stunt or to garner more attention for their own cause. It reminds me of a type of terrorism and there is a reason most governments will not negotiate with terrorists. You give in to their demands once, and they will keep coming back for more.

1 - If I'm placing ads on a website or with a person who begins to engage in some morally/ethically questionable activity, I pull the ads.
In the short term I may take a hit but in the longer term it's good for my conscience and my business.

2 - If I happen to agree with the actions/statements which are leading to the vitriolic feedback, then I have to wager my own principals against the health of my business.

I can take a stand with the offensive party (the one causing the offense) and risk hurting my business, or I can walk away from them and risk becoming weakened as a person, one who doesn't stand up for the things I believe in.

So if it falls under point 2, there isn't a stock answer. Each case would have to be considered based upon how strongly I feel about the particular issue.

I would stay the course. It's not a difficult decision at all for me.

But then, I'm probably older than you and have seen this sort of kerfuffle countless times.

fLufF
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Are you still getting enough leads and business from this source?

I have a line. That line is 500% ROI. So if I spend $50 on an ad, I expect to get $300 in business from it. That's my original $50 back, plus $250 in additional business.

If I am not getting that much business from an ad, I don't run the ad anymore.

Similarly, if I'm getting 800% ROI from an ad ($450 in the example above), and that ROI starts dropping... I evaluate other options.

While I am satisfied to get $300 in business from that ad, if I used to get $450 in business and it drops to $350, I will begin to question whether I could still get the original $450 in business from a similar ad elsewhere.

If I can, I'll move my ad.

I don't have any loyalty to an advertising outlet. It's a business arrangement; I don't owe them that $50 ad, any more than they owe me the $450 in business. I run my ads where the return meets my expectations and is comparable to my alternatives.

Ethics aside...

From a straight business perspective I think it comes down to if you think those that don't like what was said by a person you are sponsoring will organize and be able to cost you more than you make by sticking with the person.

In today's social world, It's pretty easy for something to get out of hand pretty fast. If a couple thousand people jump onto a bandwagon, that can balloon into a million very quick.

Basically I think it comes down to how easily you think you can contain / silence those that are inflamed by a comment. If an advertiser thinks they can compartmentalize the ticked off people and not allow them to affect other major segments of their clients / prospects they will keep on advertising.

Of course the ethics of such things should be seriously considered as well as whether the comments / actions were an aberration or actually the way a person thinks

First, do you AGREE with the protesters, or DISAGREE with them? Without knowing the particular political issue involved, the best we can do is sort of generalize in a non specific sort of way. You know. BS. ;-)

I'm assuming you don't agree with the protesters... Otherwise I think you'd be pursuing your own discussions with your lead source. So in that light....

While I would love to say that you should be able do business with someone without necessarily endorsing their politics, and you should be able to make a rational statement about why maintaing that business relationship doesn't mean you agree with the politics.... The reality is that the vast majority of politically motivated people are absolutely NOT interested in any rational discourse. Don't make the mistake of thinking you can reason with them. They are on a crusade to blame, punish, and destroy if possible, anyone and anything that they disagree with.

Ultimately, if this source of leads is producing more sales than it is costing you in boycotts, then you'll probably want to maintain it. If it's costing you more in boycotts than it's making you in sales, then you MAY want to discontinue it, at least temporarily.

If you personally agree with the protestors, then all the more reason to cut the relationship. But if, as I assume, you disagree with them and are just worried about the impact on the bottom line, then maybe you will maintain the relationship, and try cultivating sales and leads from "like minded customers" by making your own political statements. Of course, when you fight fire with fire, you have to be careful not to burn the whole house down.

If the partner isn't really doing anything wrong, and it's just a temporary flare up of political opposition, then you could just sit tight until it blows over. Or you and your lead source can "mutually agree to suspend the relationship" temporarily. Then when the news blows over, go back to doing whatever it is you want to do. This also encourages the partner to stay the hell outta the news and stop antagonizing the protesters!

Oh, and btw... Just file away a little mental note of how much the bozo protesters have cost you. That's a debt, not a loss. If the opportunity should ever happen to present itself to collect on that debt, make sure you do. Double if possible.

You bet I'd pull the ads from Rush Limbaugh's program. But I would have never advertised with him to start with.

You have to decide if you want your brand associated with that type of show. If you do, expect that some customers will be offended. Your choice. Stick with Rush or offend your customers.

If you're being attacked for vile remarks about a young women and losing all your advertisers, what should you do?

Well, attack another young women, of course. lol. Idiot.

Here's The Woman Rush Limbaugh Is Attacking Today; 'Totally Bizarre,' She Says - Forbes

Sometimes you have to be your own Risk Management. My suggestion is simple, pull out as soon as possible before the negative boycott does more damage.

"It's not personal, it's just business."

There's really not much more to say on the subject. The majority of long lasting business have lived and thrived off this principle.

The answer really depends on how well known your company is and what the short/long-term risks associated with either decision are.

For example, does anyone really think Apple gave a crap about worker conditions in China when they first began outsourcing production there? Not likely - and why do they give a crap about it today? Because consumer pressure forces them too.

Does anyone really care what the typical small business online supports? Not in the least - whether I support A or B isn't going to have any significant impact on my small business.

Would I pull advertising because of some fundamental disagreement with what the agency is supporting? There's no black and white answer - I would decide that on a case-by-case basis.

I can say that offline, during my professional career, there were times when I passed over working with certain clients for various reasons like this.

I wouldn't be phased by it unless it were something that personally offended you.

carbonite is probably doomed anyhow do to cloud computing..

i think it is ok to drop advertising when the people you are advertising with do something that is personally offensive ..I am conservative and think calling someone names who disagrees with you ..especially vulger names..is not called for ..

but when you throw your advertising with someone like rush..or glenn beck or who ever ..to abandon it on one issue show you have a wishy washy stratagy..

if bill mahar had to depend on advertisers and didn't have an open mic to say what he wanted on hbo..

Anything for a buck, seems like the bottom line to almost everyone.

I think that if an advertising source goes against the image you want for your company they should be dropped - bucks or not. There are other places that will be more to your desired image, I'm sure. What happens when a pack of zealots that just happen to like your product decides to pull a boycott because you are not supporting an issue they want you to? Do you support it for the bucks or just tell them to take a ride?

At some point we have to decide our stances - and be ready to take a loss for our principles if need be. Should our trade environment be just an out of control voracious money gobbling system? I think as humans we need to do better than that. We want profit - but at some point we do have social responsibility, too - we can see what happens when businesses feel no social responsibility other than to suck in every bit of wealth that they can get. MONSANTO. Want a world filled with companies like that? How long can humanity actually thrive with a world full of companies who have only one principle, only one aim, only one goal - as much money as they can get? How little attention can we give our principles before we lose all humanity and become nothing but coin machines?

Our businesses need to profit - but we are still humans and our businesses still run on human sweat. We HAVE to draw lines at some point. It's not a matter of "IF" we have to -- it's a matter of "how far do we let it go before we react". I think about 30 - 45 businesses showed us where they have drawn the lines. It may or may not be a profitable position they have taken. They will, however, be able to sleep at night with solid conscience that they did what they thought was right to do. You make a mistake when you think business has no human side to it at all.

OOPS - was writing when you posted Suzanne - but I see we both are in a close frame of mind on the situation.

I guess the question is how much of an impact are we talking about? And how long has it been since people have been complaining?

Right now, with the Rush scandal, it's hot. It happened recently, every time someone stops advertising, news gets updated, and people are reminded of what went on.

What's going to happen in a couple weeks? Once advertisers stop dropping out, this is going to fade from people's minds, especially if something else comes up to take attention away from Rush.

That's what I'd weigh in in choosing whether to stop advertising with a specific outlet. Also, I'd want to run the numbers: how many people are actually leaving, and how many are saying they won't use my stuff/patronize my business?

The first folks are clients and customers, and those numbers matter. The second solks are harder to guage: are these people who would have otherwise been clients and customers, or are they folks who wouldn't patronize my services? If I'm selling cuts of meat, the vegan's club boycotting me won't change the fact they're not in target market.

I'd probably wait it out, and see what happens. You can always drop advertising if you determine it's not in your best interests, but it's not always possible to get the advertising contract back.

Good grief. I knew I should have shut this down when I first saw it.

I always hope it will be possible for people to discuss principles without fighting over the principals. And some of you make me regret that hope, every time.