Why Values-Based Buying Is the Next Generation of Media

As Jean Kilbourne (writer, filmmaker, and activist known for her work on the image of women in advertising) said, “Ads do sell products, but they also sell a great deal more than products. They sell values, images, concepts of love and sexuality, of romance, success, popularity, and perhaps most important, of normalcy. To a very great extent, they tell us who we are and who we should be.”

Think about some of those most iconic brands of the last half century: Coca Cola, Apple, Nike. Brands have long used their marketing messaging strategies to make a cultural impact. Today, many corporations use their clout to promote values that they hold. A recent example is the companies who have pledged to assist employees with women’s healthcare if Roe v. Wade is overturned. These companies include Amazon, Bloomberg, Apple, Citigroup, Levi’s, Uber, Mastercard and many more.?

Other corporations have taken a pledge to become net-zero emission producers; these companies include Coca Cola and General Motors. In light of this trend towards values-based marketing, I want to ask a new question: Why don’t marketers use their largest marketing expenditure, media, to help promote the values that they have been talking about for years, but have made little progress on?

These issues include spending on minority-owned media to help support content that targets underserved communities, as well as media companies that actively support LGBTQ+ rights or promote strategies that combat climate change.

Other issues could include supporting media companies that do not promote misinformation or disinformation, or media companies that strive to protect consumers’ data. There are many issues that could become a scorecard for how brands choose to evaluate media companies other than the traditional metrics of audience, price, data and technology solutions.?

Using a brand’s media dollars to promote the values that they hold most dear is not an easy pivot when brands are fighting for market share and growth. But brands have the individual and collective power to hold media companies accountable by being mindful about where they spend their advertising dollars.

It’s an opportunity to demonstrate in actions, not just ads, what your brand actually values. And furthermore, today’s consumer will value this stance, if promoted, and reward those brands with their loyalty.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Pam Zucker, SVP, Head of Marketing for Amobee.