“We don’t do politics.”
We’ve heard it countless times. And I get it. It’s easy to feel confused, frustrated, and even fearful trying to keep up with ever-shifting expectations around how brands should (or should not) engage with pressing social and environmental issues. It’s even easier for business and brand leaders to throw up their hands and give up on giving a f**k.
But what looks like the path of least resistance is ultimately the road of least resilience. Underneath all the uncertainty is a unified belief across the political spectrum that our institutions – including business – have rigged the system. More than 90% of Americans think companies bear a responsibility to actively promote an economy that serves everyone. Very few people think companies are doing this well.
Here’s the truth:
Nobody wants to buy brands that simply dance to the daily discourse, pushed around by prevailing winds. Being a wallflower is even worse.
Everyone wants to support and champion brands with a strong sense of identity, a clear point of view, and the confidence and commitment to act on it.
It’s time to stop straining to read the tea leaves and react to the latest flashpoint. “But politics” is a lousy excuse.
Embracing advocacy with focus and consistency – perfectly tuned to your unique business objectives – unlocks a bright new realm of engagement for brands seeking to matter, while giving your team the freedom to say “no” and maintain course in the next crisis.
Just because few brands do it well – and we’ve advised many of those in that category – doesn’t mean it’s not the smartest approach.
Eric Raymond
Founding Partner
Adam Fetcher
Founding Partner
WHAT IS BIG FUTURE?
Big Future brings unmatched experience at the nexus of business, advocacy, politics, and brand communications to support leaders and teams in building focused, durable, impact-driven advocacy platforms that accelerate business strategy and improve brand health, while connecting with your audience and their core values (and anxieties). This work deepens existing relationships – and sparks new ones.
Our work advising and leading some of the world’s most admired advocacy-oriented brands and organizations has consistently driven credible impact, sparked cultural resonance, strengthened influence and reputation, built resilience for the next crisis, and supported sustainable financial growth.
We help you enter the arena. thoughtfully.
without the risky guesswork of going it alone (or giving up).
what is an advocacy platform?
Achieving the benefits of a focused, consistent and durable advocacy strategy requires – and builds – credibility. Credibility demands humility, relationships, real commitment (even if modest, at first), and the sweat equity to show you’re here to stay. The result? Beloved brands that build community and break through.
A strong advocacy platform generally consists of four key elements integrated together:
1. agenda or “lane”
What change are we trying to make?
Should be tightly focused and relevant in the news and public discourse – and it must connect with a bright line to the brand’s core business and product.
2. action
What direct value can we bring to frontline groups?
Can include philanthropy, product donations, creative resources, influence, marketing space – or, ideally, all of the above.
3. amplification
How can we act as a megaphone for the movement?
Strongest if we demonstrate a willingness to use high-priority channels typically used for selling.
4. engagement
How can we get our audiences involved?
Includes plans for how customers or fans can join us on an ongoing basis, and get activated during campaigns and/or flashpoints.
What we do
Get the right support at the right stage
advocacy curious
Brands seeking to step into a credible, durable, highly focused advocacy strategy – but don’t know where to start.
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Following a proven methodology, we'll help you build a strong advocacy platform from scratch woven deeply into your brand identity, business purpose, and core products.
This will include:
Outlining crisp objectives at the onset that meet your business goals
Identifying your advocacy "lane"
Sparking relationships with key leaders in the movement you seek to support
Launching direct action to bring value to the movement ecosystem
Developing plans for storytelling and communications, including key messages
Creating a clear and compelling mechanism for audiences to join you
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With a well-crafted advocacy platform underfoot, we'll help you plan and prepare for your first step out into the arena on a highly specific issue with high potential for impact, creative activations, and – over time – winnable moments to celebrate with your audiences.
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Both during and after initial construction of your advocacy platform, we'll spend time helping your teams learn to think movements, not just marketing.
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We'll help you build a set of advocacy principles and key messages that drive home your brand story, while enabling you to spark and fuel conversations of consequence to the audiences that matter most to your business – including:
Employees
Consumers/customers
Investors
Stakeholders
Advocates
Policymakers
advocacy COMPETENT
Brands with some history of advocacy or philanthropy that want to see greater positive impact from those investments.
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Using your brand DNA and pulling key strands of your advocacy legacy to date, we'll help you refine and rebuild an advocacy platform for the future – reclaiming your focus, relevance, and reputational benefit in the process.
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Working as connective tissue between key functions, we'll help you develop integrated campaigns that break through in culture and create meaningful impact – on your issue and for your brand.
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If you feel confident with your existing advocacy platform, we can help you understand smarter ways to integrate advocacy and impact throughout your brand communications to achieve higher engagement with key audiences – without distracting from business-critical activities.
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We'll study your existing messaging and help you build a set of advocacy principles and key messages that drive home your brand story, while enabling you to spark and fuel conversations of consequence to the audiences that matter most to your business – including:
Employees
Consumers/customers
Investors
Stakeholders
Advocates
Policymakers
advice needed
Business leaders wanting experienced, trusted counsel in their corner to explore ideas, manage through flashpoints, and hone quality messaging for key audiences.
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We offer regular coaching or thought-partnership sessions to executives trying to navigate internal and/or external challenges at the intersection of politics, culture, and business. These conversations are confidential and extremely candid – designed to equip you with insights, tools, and talking points needed to lean into tough conversations and decisions.
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We’ll help you nail your voice on challenging issues when speaking or writing for any audience, and ensure you show up with words that make the intended impact, while building your legacy as a visionary leader every step of the way.
advocacy confident
Brands with a well-earned reputation for advocacy and impact among insiders that want help reaching wider audiences.
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We’ll show you where your advocacy agenda intersects with opportunities within culture – as well as pitfalls in partisan politics – and how you might leverage your brand to drive new kinds of conversations among the audiences that matter most to your business.
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Knowing that trends come and go, while uncertainty remains a constant, we’ll share recommendations for how to protect your programs – and your reputation – from the inevitable earthquakes in culture, politics, and broader public sentiment.
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Many businesses and brands with stellar records of impact still struggle to connect this work meaningfully with employees or close-knit stakeholders. We can help you build new mechanisms for awareness and participation to drive higher employee engagement scores and motivate teams.
Get in touch
Let’s schedule a call and talk about your advocacy aspirations – and/or anxieties! We can help.