Don’t Monkey Around with Brand Perceptions

Walmart Pulls Coconut Milk Amid Monkey Labor Allegations.

Chained monkeys were trained to quickly climb palms and pick the coconuts for Thai coconut milk brands. Although they were rewarded with food for their labor, animal rights organizations got involved and have been calling this “monkey slave labor”. 

In 2019, PETA investigators in Asia surfaced several instances in Thailand of a coconut supplier using chained-up monkeys to pick the fruit for major Thailand-based brands like Chaokoh. So, PETA and other organizations are making the names of retailers public which have carried this brand, causing Walmart and Target to drop them. 

This points out how and why you carry products can have a dramatic effect on your brand. If you’re not paying attention you can be dragged into some very damaging associations that become difficult to escape from.

Turns Out Gen Z Has One Surprising Drinking Habit

Besides tequila, non-alcoholic cocktails, and canned drinks, the youngest drinking age group is embracing a parental favorite — red wine. Yes, experimenting with different RTD (ready-to-drink) beverages like White Claw and hard ciders, not to mention tequila brands of all kinds, for a social experience they end up going with red wines.  

When asked what drink they plan to buy more of this year, Gen Z respondents put red wine (38%) on top, over tequila, vodka, hard seltzer, rosé, beer and RTDs.

B2B Brands Need Human Relevance – Cisco Bridges Connections To People

The short ad above really tells it all and clearly expresses what they do in the world. It’s essential that B2B brands remember that the human part is the real reason they exist.

A global technology conglomerate, Cisco has been around for more than 30 years and is still going strong, largely because of its foresight in staying ahead of the curve and realizing the key is people. Brands must create real meaning and human value beyond their often invisible technology. They have to connect with people and their values. This is where emotional decision-making comes into play, even with often abstract B2B technology brands.

When you take away technology and go back to the fundamentals – what are we as marketers really here to do? It is, quite simply, to be “human.”

Cisco has long prioritized corporate social responsibility initiatives, frequently highlighting a deeper purpose through emotionally based campaigns driven by Jeremy Bevan, Cisco’s VP of EMEA Marketing . They focus on the big picture of what Cisco does in the world. The metaphor of the bridge can apply to many technological changes but still references connecting people, the real core of their business.