Fear of ‘cancel culture’ seeing UK marketers shun global campaigns
British marketers are less inclined to work on campaigns for international audiences amid a fear of ‘cancel culture,’ according to research by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
Marketers are concerned their brands will be called out by a global audience
A poll of 500 UK in-house and agency marketing professionals found that many fear their brand or business being ostracized for some social faux pas. For this reason, 67% of marketers say they have shrunk their focus to domestic concerns. This perspective threatens to shrink international sales, valued at a reported £11.7bn.
Urging marketers to hold their nerve, the industry body is reaching out to the 41% of UK marketers who fear becoming the next victim of global ‘cancel culture.’ This dovetails with a pandemic-related hit to confidence, with 48% fretting that lockdowns have made it harder to connect with foreign audiences.
The CIM survey found that a mere 40% of respondents considered their campaigns to be ‘export ready,’ signifying the need for urgent upskilling to ensure export opportunities are not squandered.
Among the challenges threatening to derail foreign adventures are awareness and appreciation of different cultures, cited by 39%, as well as ensuring that messaging resonates with international audiences (34%).
High-profile examples of brands becoming unstuck after stumbling against these issues include an ‘unrealistic’ Samsung advert depicting a woman out running alone at 2am ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
Chris Daly, chief executive of CIM, said: “Across the world, consumers and employees are becoming more vocal in calling out companies when they put a foot wrong, making sure they’re held accountable for their actions. Yet this behavior shouldn’t mean UK marketers shy away from being ambitious, scaling up campaigns and chasing global opportunities.
“While it’s reassuring to see marketers’ confidence in appealing to their home audience, we do run the risk of wearing ‘British blinkers’ and cutting ourselves off from the wider world.”
An increasingly narrow-minded focus on Britain is blamed on consumer preference to ‘buy British,’ as a result of the pandemic (58%) and Brexit (52%), adding to a marketing minefield already made challenging by the rise of greenwashing concerns.