More brands are distancing themselves from contentious dates like January 26 as a marketing tool to stand out from other brands, says RMIT experts.
Ahead of the public holiday later this week, supermarkets Aldi, Woolworths and retailer Kmart have announced they will not sell any Australia Day merchandise. While Coles will continue to sell such products some shoppers has noticed the shrinking display size.
The decision was a commercial, not a political statement, Woolworths’ chief executive Bradford Banducci told the public.
Banducci, who appeared on both Channel Seven’s Sunrise and Nine’s Today on Wednesday morning, denied accusations it is serving up “wokeness in aisle three” and admitted “we could have done a better job” in explaining the move.
Sales of Australia Day merchandise “has actually been reducing for a number of years”, he told Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
However, Daniel Rayne, lecturer of marketing at RMIT, says Woolworths have adopted this "activism without activism" approach, which signals how the ways brands engage in activism are constantly expanding and evolving.
“Brands are increasingly using contemporary sociopolitical issues as a marketing tool to stand out from the crowd," Rayne said.
“Normally, when brands adopt an activism strategy, they put their social support front and centre, however, perhaps driven by fear of isolating the market, big retailers have adopted a business decision focus first.
“Putting business interests ahead of a firm social position, makes their activism approach more palatable for shareholders.”
Similarly, Amanda Spry, senior lecturer of marketing at RMIT, says by their own admission, Woolworths position on not stocking Australia Day merchandise has a social component to it and questions why is this secondary?
“As consumers become more familiar with brand initiatives that have a social edge, they are able to reconcile both profit-making and social motives," Spry said.
“By Woolworths publicly stating this, they are perhaps making it easier for consumers to interpret their strategy.
“The timing of such comments by Woolworths is unlikely a coincidence as pressure concerning their price gouging heats up.
“This move away from stocking Australia Day merchandise, even if temporarily, changes the discourse around the brand.
“The negativity surrounding previous attempts to show brand support to First Nations People have perhaps resulted in Woolworths adopting a new approach to their support.
“Brands will often call on social initiatives as a deflection mechanism for current and future malpractice.”
Jake Thomson, Wiradjuri man and former head of Aboriginal health television at Tonic Media Network, told AdNews last year January 26 was the beginning of barbaric invasion and colonisation.
"The effects of this are still felt by my family and many other Aboriginal families. Instead January 26 – is known and called ‘Survival Day’ or ‘Invasion Day’ by Aboriginal People," Thomson said.
"I encourage all Australians to learn the history of Aboriginal people, which is Australia’s history. This will hopefully allow you to begin to understand why our people do not celebrate Jan 26 as 'Australia Day’."
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