Uprising: How to Build a Brand – and Change the World – By Sparking Cultural Movements

Citation

Furlow, N. (2013), "Uprising: How to Build a Brand – and Change the World – By Sparking Cultural Movements", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 267-268. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2012-0153a

Just to be clear – this is not a book about how to market your cause, but rather it is about how to market your brand as if it were a cause. Drawing on his years of experience of turning brands into cult‐like movements, Scott Goodson, founder and CEO of StrawberryFrog, makes a strong argument for companies to examine cultural movements when developing a branding strategy. Nonprofits have been successful in creating a groundswell of support and rallying their believers behind a cause, so why can't companies do the same?

Broken down into eight chapters, Uprising is a quick read that benefits from the vast examples and case studies. The first chapter, “What Is a Movement?” is an appropriate introduction to the book. Citing his own clients as examples of how “movement marketing” has been successful, Goodson makes an effective case for the practice. While the theory is not new (some would say it is just a new twist on public relations), his results demonstrate the benefits of the technique. Paying homage to true cultural movements such as the Renaissance, Goodson refers to marketing movements as “movements with a small m” and they “may involve, say, a group of passionate activists, creative types, or even rabid consumers of a particular product” (p. 7).

Social media is what makes movement marketing relevant for today's marketer. “The current movement mania is being fueled by several factors, the most obvious one being technology. The internet, and in particular the rise of social media, has made it easy to find and connect with like‐minded souls. And that same technology makes it possible for a group, once formed, to organize, plan and take action” (p. 5).

In the second chapter, “From ‘Thinking Small’ to Getting ‘Real’,” the author explains the concept of movement marketing through an overview of brands that have been forerunners to marketing movements. To a certain extent, “movement marketing” is the definition of what companies have recently been doing under the guise of brand tribes or communities. Harley Davidson, Apple and Jeep are just a few examples of brands that have been successful in building a tribe around the brand. However, Goodson reasons that there is a difference between tribes and movements claiming that movements are diverse and open to membership, unlike tribes.

Goodson addresses the psychology behind movement marketing in Chapter 3 “Why Do People Start and Join Movements?” Restlessness, the herding instinct, and a sense of community all play a role in joining movements. “Part of what makes the bond among members within a movement so strong is a shared sense of purpose. But often, there's also a shared feeling among people inside the movement that they are, in some important way, ‘different’ from those outside the group.” (p. 61).

In Chapter 4 “Why Movements Are Suddenly Becoming…A Movement” the recurring theme of the role of social media and technology is front and center. Additionally, the author reasons that today's consumers are socially conscious and businesses cannot ignore social issues. “As customers begin to care deeply about issues, businesses must care about them, too. If the public is moving toward a world of greater collaboration and sharing, then business must do likewise – or else risk falling out of touch” (p. 91).

Cause marketing campaigns have been able to tap into this consumer and build on a relationship birthed from support of a movement. Goodson demonstrates that it is possible for companies to create their own movement, often times in coordination with a cause, but not always. Many of the examples that are cited are causes or issues that corporations have embraced to promote their brands such as Dove's Real Beauty Campaign and Levi's Go Forth.

In the next chapter, “Ideas on the Rise” Goodson uses numerous examples of organizations that capitalize on current trends within consumer culture. But as he explains, it is not enough to explore current culture, “but also that you understand the brand well enough to find the right cultural trends to seize upon” (p. 124). It may not be a matter of finding what your brand supports but rather what you are against.

Chapter 6, “Lighting the Spark” is devoted to building a corporate culture around the movement. To explain this, Goodson uses Pedigree and their “Dogs Rule” movement as a wonderful case study. “I think one of the most exciting aspects of movement marketing is the potential it offers for helping to change the way people think and feel about their own companies” (p. 155). After an internal culture is developed, the author explains tactics to move the culture from the “inside” to the “outside”.

Once the movement is launched, “Sustaining a Movement – and Taking It Global” is discussed in Chapter 7. Rather than thinking big, Goodson advocates for thinking small. “One big advantage of the small ideas approach is that you can try more things; you can start a lot of little fires and see which ones seem to catch, then fan the flames” (p. 187). The idea that people and movements are now connected globally is also reinforced in this chapter.

The book concludes with “Why the Future Belongs to Movements.” Goodson explains that today is a time of social upheaval. Access to media has made “long festering problems” (p. 214) into issues that are now demanding attention – and solutions. While it would be easy for businesses to not get involved in movements today, as the author points out, “one of the biggest risks to business in today's dynamic world is being perceived to be out of touch and behind the times” (p. 220). A number of different methodologies for businesses to be involved are nicely summed up in the conclusion.

Uprising would appeal to marketing professionals and corporate leaders looking for a way to connect with today's consumers. Because of the explanation of consumer behavior, branding, and the incredible number of case studies and examples of successful campaigns, the book would also appeal to advanced marketing students. Finally, anyone looking for inspiration and a way to spark creativity, Uprising will not disappoint.