If I had to put my finger on the buzzword of the decade, it’d have to be ‘wokeness’. ‘Wokeness’, or ‘being woke’, is an ideology that has swept the globe like wildfire. Wokeness is affecting every part of our lives, including the way we market our businesses. So, what should you consider when marketing to an increasingly woke society?

The problem with wokeism

While wokeness has been the catalyst for change and the exposure of many social problems, including racism and inequality, its use has been somewhat trivialised of late. The movement may have started life as a new state of awareness about what’s happening in the world, but the phenomenon of being woke is often described as causing more harm than good.

According to a recent YouGov study, 23% of Brits consider wokeness to be a bad thing, with 49% of those surveyed specifically choosing to style themselves as ‘not-woke’ as a result.

Its premise has left many individuals and brands unable to air their true feelings without the risk of causing offence, with those deemed as ‘woke’ all too ready to pass judgement using their ‘enlightened’ ideal.

Wokeness, marketing and the balance

Wokeness isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. A fact that us marketers just have to accept! But, what should businesses and the marketers representing them be aware of when promoting their products, services and/or values to an overly woke, easily offended and eternally outraged audience?

As always, there’s a fine line between being edgy and just damn right offensive. A good marketing strategy should strike a balance that gains the brand notoriety for all the right reasons. What you shouldn’t do is court controversy - like our friends over at Nike did when they made NFL football player Colin Kaepernick (the first athlete not to stand for the American national anthem) their poster boy.

In the same breath, brands shouldn’t be encouraged to ‘woke wash’ their campaigns, i.e. fake wokeness to get millennials onboard and subsequently profit.

What’s the key to success as society continues to evolve?

Being authentic was the key before wokeness became a thing, and still is the not-so-secret tactic to successfully marketing your business to the masses.

Stick by your brand values to market your most authentic self. If activism is your thing, use genuine practices to align social causes with your marketing campaign. The result will be a brand that your target audience can get on board with for the long haul.