What do you believe?

The last year has been hard for so many reasons. One thing that became clear for me is my personal need to build a business that is driven by strong values.

I’m not alone in this. I could share so many examples but I’ll save that for a blog post. Here’s an example I stumbled on this week:

Recently, on Twitter, the account @steak_umm put their steak in the ground on science in reply to a tweet from Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Here's the summary of the image above for screen readers:

Steak-umm (@steak_umm) quote tweeted Neil deGrasse Tyson's (@neiltyson) tweet that says, "The good thing about Science is that it's true, whether or not you believe in it," with the caption "log off bro."

User Kevin Flynn (@KevinFl79824320) responded with a (since deleted) tweet, "you must have changed social media personnel."

Steak-umm replied to Kevin Flynn with, "nope. science itself isn't "true" it's a constantly refining process used to uncover truths based on material reality and that process is still full of misteaks. neil just posts ridiculous sound bites for clout and he has no respect for epistemology."

If you don’t know the Steak-umm brand, it’s understandable—I’ve only ever seen it at one grocery store in nearly 21 years living in Canada and it was only there for a year or two. But Steak-umms were on the menu semi-regularly when I was growing up in the US. They aren’t gourmet or particularly healthy but they’re a cheap, easy way to feed a family of 5.

What’s it like to eat? Think beef donair, but thinner and you have to add the spices. In my family, we used it to make steak subs.

Back to @steak-umm’s tweets: I was scrolling through the replies on Twitter and what stood out to me was how many people questioned why a brand that specializes in processed frozen meat would have anything to say about science or dare to take on Neil deGrasse Tyson (if you’re a fan, I promise this isn’t about him).

But this isn’t the first time (nor will it be the last) Steak-umm has been outspoken about a meatless topic. However, they’re one of the only brands I’ve seen that’s upfront and honest about what they hope to get out of the stance they take.

Here's what they had to say:

brands that use social causes for marketing do so to meat a bottom line. they calculate decisions based on the risk/reward ratio of advertisers, current audiences, and potential audiences. workers internally may truly care, but the decisions are ultimately based in self-interest

even when a brand is on the "right" side of an issue, it’s because choosing that side is providing them value. it's not good or bad on its own, it's just self-interest. brands can influence people to move in any direction, but it will always be tethered to their own bottom line

brands can play a role in normalizing, rejecting, supporting, or ignoring social causes, much like celebrities and institutions. when they market themselves around social causes, they can also overtly or covertly trick consumers into thinking it's based on principle versus profit

steak-umm posts about coronavirus and online misinformation because (1) these are universal issues and (2) our audience has rewarded us for our commentary. we might internally think it’s the right thing to do, but if our brand was hurting from it we would either stop or reassess

we try to focus our humanized ads on vague, surface-level subjects that most people can agree on and understand. this includes critical thinking, understanding others, and introspection, with a dash of sass once in awhile if we're feeling spicy. that's the "steak-umm bless" ethos

when we remind people that brands do what they do to meat a bottom line, it postures us above the problem, but we aren't. we're just using self-aware anti-advertising to invoke transparency because it helps our own bottom line. it's all circular. that's the tea

steak-umm bless

Meat puns notwithstanding, it’s refreshing to see.

I've been holding back a lot in sharing my views on my business profiles. But this year I’m working to be more open about what I believe and staying true to my values.

My motivation?

To find clients who know where I’m coming from and hopefully mostly agree. Because I need to make money and I think you can be open about what you believe and the values you hold dear and still grow your business.

Yep, I took all that from a frozen meat company’s tweets.

In fact, one of the thousands of replies that stuck out to me is one from someone who’s been trying to find Steak-umms at the grocery stores in their area for 6 months and they're always sold out. All because the meat company talked about something that wasn't meat.

Fans of the aforementioned astrophysicist may be less inclined to buy, and that’s okay. The goal isn’t to win anyone over.

The goal is to connect with the people who get you. Who wants to work with someone who doesn't share some of their most important values?

Here’s a sample of what I believe and what drives me in business:

• The inequity in the world today is an active choice we make.
• Black lives matter.
• Indigenous people deserve true reconciliation.
• Everyone should have a safe place to live and plenty of food and not worry about how to pay for it.
• There is never a valid reason to discriminate against LGBTQ2IA+ folks.
• Marketing can be ethical and valuable without manipulating your audience.

Not everyone who interacts with me will agree with these things. So, I’m unlikely to be the right person to help those who don't. But I know there are plenty of people out there who share my values and putting it out there is the best way to find them.

Karen

PS - What do you believe? And how do you use it in your marketing?