Trump shock puts politically engaged marketers in introspective mood

Marketers on each side of the Atlantic have reacted in different ways to Donald Trump and the Republican Party winning power in the US.

Trump shock puts politically engaged marketers in introspective mood

Wendy Clark, who took a sabbatical from her position as president of sparkling brands and strategic marketing at Coca-Cola to work on Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2015, is probably pretty distraught at the result.

But the current president and CEO of DDB North America has kept her feelings to herself, other than publishing this tweet as Clinton’s defeat began to look inevitable:

Jonathan Mildenhall, the Airbnb CMO and former colleague of Clark’s at Coca-Cola, was much gloomier, posting this in response to her tweet:

Also clearly taken aback by the result was Facebook’s vice president of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson, who confessed she hadn't expected Trump to win.

She wrote, in part of a longer post: "I want to believe that Trump won because there is a large number of people feeling disenfranchised, feeling lost as the world moves on. Certainly that is what Brexit showed us.

"I don't want to think that everyone who voted for Trump is against basic women's or LGBT rights, or prejudice in their thinking. I want to give people the benefit of doubt. I don't want to judge. We have had enough of that this election cycle. I want to now find a way for progress."

In the UK, Jan Gooding, who is chair of the UK arm of LGBT charity Stonewall in addition to her job as group brand director at insurance company Aviva, encouraged her Twitter followers not to despair.

Zaid Al-Qassab, chief brand and marketing officer at UK telecoms company BT, commented on the data angle of the election. The majority of pollsters had wrongly called for Clinton, with Al-Qassab observing that "numbers never tell the full story":

In response to queries by Campaign Asia-Pacific, FCB International president, Sebastien Desclee said via email:

The unbelievable happened. Donald Trump coming to the White House is creating a lot of uncertainty and questioning. From a business standpoint, he clearly said that he would reexamine commercial treaties the US has with a lot of countries, pushing forward very simple and unrealistic solutions. US business communities do not support him and all the measures he plans to put in place could very quickly put the US economy into recession. His lack of international and thus Asian understanding is also another source of questioning and uncertainty. Let's hope that he will be smart enough to surround himself with real experts that understand and value the complexity of Asia to the world's benefit.

Source:
Campaign UK

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Related Articles

Just Published

1 day ago

BYD closes 2024 on top, but can it sustain its EV ...

BRAND HEALTH CHECK: After outpacing Tesla and smashing 2024 sales records, BYD faces its toughest road yet. With 45% EU tariffs and a locked-out U.S. market, can the EV giant supercharge global ambitions or stall under trade barriers?

1 day ago

Move and win roundup: Week of January 2, 2025

As 2025 kicks off, Campaign rounds up the first major people moves and business wins of the year. From leadership exits to new creative wins, catch all the latest updates in January's first edition.

1 day ago

What's in, what's out: Marketing trends you need to ...

OUTLOOK 2025: A clear, concise and constantly updated guide for industry trends and predictions—all in one place. Check back often for the freshest updates.