Having Pride In Your Brand
Every time we talk about cause marketing with our panels, the emphasis inevitably boils down to: “make sure it feels authentic to the consumer” and “choose a cause true to your core company values.” It’s incredibly difficult to check both these boxes completely and in a natural-feeling way for consumers, but Bombas is the gold medalist of cause marketing—especially this month.
A little about Bombas: Cause to the core.
Aiding people experiencing homelessness is Bombas’s core mission—they also happen to make some of the best socks on the market. Since its inception in 2013, one pair of socks has been donated for every one bought. They never deviate from that mission and it remains front and center throughout their brand.
The homelessness cause isn’t just in the company’s business and product DNA—it’s also consistently woven throughout their external marketing strategy, too. Seen above is just one of many educational and activist type social posts scattered throughout the Bombas accounts addressing homelesses. Cause-related posts, ads and emails sometimes coincide with a broader societal event (like the Census), but often, it’s a small message about homelessness woven into other product marketing.
What better way to build trust and loyalty than weaving your brand values into every interaction with your customer? Bombas knows they have to prove their commitment over time versus shouting it out in a one-and-done campaign.
The campaign we love: The Bombas Pride Collection
One of the purest examples of building on a core value in an authentic way. For Pride Month, Bombas kept to their brand pillars and mission while layering on and highlighting the LGBTQ+ community in a way that felt natural and genuine to consumers. They launched a new Pride-inspired line and for each purchase made from the Pride Collection, Bombas donates a pair to LGBTQ+ people in need through its partnership with The Ally Coalition.
Diverse, current and loud, Bombas has always taken marketing risks many other brands don’t, but the Pride Collection stands out even more than their usual posts. And, because the beneficiaries of the campaign are LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness, no consumer would question the intention behind the collection or its flashy messaging. Featuring and created by actual members of the LGBTQ+ community, it all fits with the brand voice and adds even more to their credibility as a cause brand.
Other socially conscious campaigns
Bombas also doesn’t shy away from marketing new initiatives and causes pertaining to other social issues that are not part of their original business model. In the same vein, The Black Hive Collection was created by their Black staff and for the benefit of both their Black consumer base and people of color experiencing homelessness.
Integrated into their social feeds are posts of Bombas’s “Black Hive,” part product photo shoot, part team member highlight and part cause marketing in support of Black Lives Matter.
More like this: Other Pride Month show stoppers.
Bombas isn’t the only one that makes a splash for Pride Month. Although they exemplify walking the walk when it comes to cause marketing, several other brands put their money where their social media posts are for Pride through collections and non-profit partnerships. Here are just a few:
The Body Shop’s Customer Petition
Bliss’s Makeup Wipes
And for even more on how else brands can authentically engage the LGBTQ+ community, or just rock their own cause marketing, check out CommerceNext’s latest webinars featuring brands who’ve been there, done that.
Happy Pride, and Happy Marketing!
