Kuiu for Trump. Do you want to know which way your brand leans?

[Will Newton]

I don’t think this is chaffy out of the gate, but it may get chaffy; if it does, Roger, feel free to move it over.

Dave Chenault’s most recent smartly-written blog post deals with corporate ambassadorship; it included a link to Kuiu’s corporate blog, which includes this recent post, essentially a corporate endorsement of Trump for president.

The post raised an eyebrow. I don’t think I’ve seen anything nearly as direct from any outdoor brand. Chouinard’s writing makes some leanings clear, but you’d have to seek those out; while the Pata site often features media about conservation, there’s no endorsement of specific parties or policies. There’s been some coverage of BD’s Peter Metcalf and his dealings with local and congressional-level land use officials, but I don’t think BD has featured said coverage on their blog.

As someone who works in branding the naivete of the Kuiu post surprised me; no matter one’s personal political leanings, it’s hard not to come away from the post feeling that Jason Hairston is a bit starstruck by his affiliation. Explicitly tying your entire corporate brand to a political campaign (particularly with zero mention of having investigated or understood any other candidate’s position on hunting or land-use issues) seems a dubious customer engagement strategy, even for a go-it-your-own-way outfit like Kuiu.

Thoughts?

[Jerry Adams]

uh oh, this can not go well : )

Ben and Jerry endorse Bernie

Yeah, it doesn’t seem like corporations should endorse political candidates.  Better to stay neutral.

Okay to endorse causes like Chouinard with environmentalism

Just my opinion though

[Richard Scruggs]

To politic, or not to politic? And what’s “acceptable” politic anyway?

Those seem to be the questions.

Walks like chaff, talks like chaff, sounds like chaff.  Yep, it’s chaff.

[Anonymous]

The following quote from the KUIU article and from Jason is particularly funny, “In getting to know Don and his brother Eric I have been impressed at how humble, respectful and down to earth they both are.”

Boy, that nearly got me literally ROTFLOL.  But my growing cynicism kept me in check some.

[Author]

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