The law of diminishing marginal utility is real. When everyone does the same thing, that thing loses value and relevance.
Having core values and securing customer trust by reinforcing commitment to them, is how you build sustainably. Do the opposite and kill your brand equity. Just ask Target. Its stock price is down 42% since it demonstrated it really wasn't committed to supporting diversity in its stores as it led its customers to believe.
All the fancy ads and sale prices aren't going to make people forget how fraudulent they are.
Exactly. The law of diminishing marginal utility isn’t just for Econ 101—it’s alive and well in marketing too. When brands all jump on the same bandwagon (DEI, sustainability, authenticity), without putting in the work to live those values, the message gets watered down. Worse, it starts to smell like performative BS.
You nailed it with Target. They crafted a message around inclusion, but when things got politically hot, they folded like a cheap pop-up display. What’s the result? A 42% nosedive in stock value and a trust deficit that no seasonal sale can patch up. Customers noticed the inconsistency. They felt lied to. And as every marketer should know by now—when trust breaks, brand equity bleeds.
MAC’s stance? Don’t market values you’re not willing to fight for in the boardroom. It’s better to be honestly silent than loudly hypocritical. If your brand can’t back its talk with action, don’t be shocked when your audience walks.
This is the kind of corporate amnesia the Marketing Accountability Council exists to fight: brands forgetting that trust, not trendiness, is what sustains them in the long run
The law of diminishing marginal utility is real. When everyone does the same thing, that thing loses value and relevance.
Having core values and securing customer trust by reinforcing commitment to them, is how you build sustainably. Do the opposite and kill your brand equity. Just ask Target. Its stock price is down 42% since it demonstrated it really wasn't committed to supporting diversity in its stores as it led its customers to believe.
All the fancy ads and sale prices aren't going to make people forget how fraudulent they are.
Exactly. The law of diminishing marginal utility isn’t just for Econ 101—it’s alive and well in marketing too. When brands all jump on the same bandwagon (DEI, sustainability, authenticity), without putting in the work to live those values, the message gets watered down. Worse, it starts to smell like performative BS.
You nailed it with Target. They crafted a message around inclusion, but when things got politically hot, they folded like a cheap pop-up display. What’s the result? A 42% nosedive in stock value and a trust deficit that no seasonal sale can patch up. Customers noticed the inconsistency. They felt lied to. And as every marketer should know by now—when trust breaks, brand equity bleeds.
MAC’s stance? Don’t market values you’re not willing to fight for in the boardroom. It’s better to be honestly silent than loudly hypocritical. If your brand can’t back its talk with action, don’t be shocked when your audience walks.
This is the kind of corporate amnesia the Marketing Accountability Council exists to fight: brands forgetting that trust, not trendiness, is what sustains them in the long run