• MarTech Today
  • Sections
    • Ads
    • Marketing
    • Content
    • Sales
    • Analytics
    • Management
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • MarTech Today
  • Ads
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Mgmt
  • Resources
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

MarTech Today

MarTech Today
  • Ads
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Management
  • Resources
  • More
  • Events
  • Newsletters
  • Home

Less than a third of consumers aware of Facebook ads boycott, Gen Z most engaged

Nearly 70% were unaware or had not formulated an opinion of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign.

Greg Sterling on July 6, 2020 at 2:19 pm
  • More


There are now nearly 1,000 advertisers that have formally signed on to the Stop Hate for Profit Facebook ads boycott. The organizations behind the campaign have lobbied brands to promote the boycott and its objectives, but there has been limited effort to build public awareness and support.

Seeking consumer sentiment. To determine consumer sentiment toward the boycott, I conducted a Google Consumer Survey of more than 1,000 US adults between June 30 – July 5. (I did not screen to see if they were Facebook users.) The single question was, “Which best describes your feelings about the ‘Stop Hate for Profit’ Facebook advertiser boycott?” They were given four randomized choices: “I was not aware of the boycott,” “approve,” “disapprove” and “not sure how I feel about it.”

Which best describes your feelings about the “Stop Hate for Profit” Facebook advertiser boycott?

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Public-awareness-stop-hate-for-profit.png
Source: Google consumer survey, (n=1,100 U.S. adults 7/30 – 7/5)

The largest group (38.8%) of respondents said they weren’t aware of the boycott. After that, 29.4% said they weren’t sure how they felt about it. However, “not sure” itself also suggests a lack of knowledge or incomplete awareness. Among the remaining roughly one-third, 19.3% were supportive, while roughly 12.5% disapproved.

Gen Z men most supportive of boycott. Google Consumer Surveys infers demographic information, so it may not be entirely accurate. However, men were both more approving (22%) and disapproving (17%) of the boycott than women, a higher number of whom (44%) said they were unaware of it.

Segmented by age, those with the highest boycott awareness were 25 – 34, while those 55 – 64 had the lowest awareness. The highest approval of the boycott came from 18 – 24 year olds, though those 65 and older were a very close second. The highest disapproval rate came from those in the 45 – 54 age group. Overall, Gen Z males were the most supportive of the campaign.

In a separate, anonymous survey of 53 Facebook employees conducted by Blind last week found a high level of support (68%) for the company’s new content guidelines as well as Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership (83%). However, 42% also expressed concern about brands pulling ads from Facebook.  

Why we care. The group behind the Stop Hate for Profit campaign has a list of policy changes and recommendations it would like to see adopted. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly believes disaffected advertisers will return relatively soon and is unlikely to fully embrace the proposals — at least at this point.

Surprisingly, nearly 70% of consumers in the Google consumer survey were either not aware of the boycott or uncertain about how they felt, which could be considered a PR failure for the campaign. It’s curious why there wasn’t more effort expended on consumer outreach, given how successful the campaign appears to have been with advertisers.

Limited consumer awareness means brands that continue advertising on Facebook during July may not suffer any consequences or stigma, which might exist with broader public awareness and support for the campaign.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech Today. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land, a member of the programming team for SMX events and the VP, Market Insights at Uberall.

Related Topics

FacebookFacebook: Advertising

Subscribe to receive daily martech news and expert insights. See terms.


We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • Digital Marketing Report Q4 2020: Benchmarks and Insights for 2021
  • Data SEO – The Next Big Adventure
  • Getting Started with Email Marketing Automation
  • The State of Local Marketing Report 2020-2021
  • Quality CRM Data: The Key to Delivering Great Customer Experiences
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

Receive daily martech news and analysis.
Martech Today
Download the Martech Today app on iTunes
Download the Martech Today App on Google Play

Channels

  • Advertising
  • Marketing
  • Content
  • Social
  • Commerce
  • Sales
  • Analytics
  • Management
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • SMX

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • MarTech Conference

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok