Urban outfitters just took down an offensive product earlier today. Based on this article the product was a Kent State University sweatshirt with red splotches all over. Now to individuals who are unfamiliar with this issue, Kent State University was the home of a shooting by National Guard soldiers on students at Kent State University, leaving reportedly 4 dead and 9 injured. You can read more about the shooting here.
What makes this article so interesting is the fact that this isn’t the first time Urban Outfitters has made a “mistake”, as pointed out by the article. They have made several offensive clothing in the past and they still continue to do so once in a while. With all this negative publicity, it is a wonder how Urban Outfitters is still surviving and this is where it gets really interesting. Urban Outfitters Inc. has reported that they reached a record quarterly sales of $811 million. The article discusses how Urban Outfitters reached this goal and why they will continue to make these “mistakes” in the future. The article states that getting bad publicity is a really effective business strategy nowadays and I personally have to agree. Humans are drawn to dramatization. We are drawn to stories of sadness and misfortune. When was the last time you heard about a best-selling book that didn’t involve some tragic death or dispute or loss? We as humans are subconsciously drawn to these aspects because they excite us.
Bringing it back to the article, this strategy plays on that attraction. Yes, as a society we thrive to be sustainable and all that good stuff but we have become so desensitized that we expect every company to have some sort of sustainability incorporated into their products or services. Now when a company like Urban Outfitters causes a stir, it grabs our attention. We will actively read about these issues and share them with our family, friends, peers etc. This is bad publicity but it is publicity nonetheless. Urban Outfitters has already issued an apology on Twitter and for most people, this apology is sufficient. Many people won’t even remember this issue in the next two weeks because we are being fed so much information in that span of time. This issue will be forgotten in our minds but the brand will be remembered as “that company that did that thing a few months ago but it’s all good now” and that’s exactly what Urban Outfitters want, a memory of their brand with vague details.
In conclusion, yes Urban Outfitters is being extremely unethical and offensive, yes they should be boycotted or persecuted for inciting violence but also yes, this is an extremely clever and effective market strategy. The only question I would like answered is how long until we as a society get desensitized to this strategy and how will companies who use similar strategies adapt to that change.