Ring pulls a Cracker Barrel

‍‍Here we go again. Ring spent millions on the Super Bowl announcing its new partnership with Flock, designed to network users and share camera data with authorities. Remember the lost dog ad? Well, it scuttled the partnership (and flushed millions of dollars in investment), in the face of customer privacy backlash.

So what does this have to do with Cracker Barrel? Both brands made the same mistake in different ways--not understanding the consumer context your brand operates in. Like Cracker Barrel, Ring pursued a major marketing investment without correctly gauging consumer reaction. And was left with egg on its face when consumer outcry forced them to backtrack.

Could Cracker Barrel have known that in today’s hyper-charged political environment, it’s seemingly straightforward logo change would spark outrage from the “woke-police?” Absolutely. Similarly, could Ring have known that privacy sensitivity and lack of trust in law enforcement would sink their data-sharing arrangement? Of course.

The lesson? It’s every marketer’s responsibility to understand the context their brand operates in. Before committing millions of dollars in time and money on a major initiative, ask the right questions: Is the initiative connected to a larger cultural trend, and what are my customers’ attitudes toward that trend? Have those attitudes shifted, and could that shift blow up in our faces? If you don’t know the answer, go find out before you spend the money. That’s what research is for. You’ll be glad you did.