Fear and loathing along the consumer path to purchase 2016
President Donald Trump — nobody saw that coming.
Except maybe one man Drug Store News interviewed for our January 2011 cover story: Stewart “Stewie Rah-Rah” Rahr, the free-wheeling billionaire-philanthropist and former owner/founder of Kinray, the largest privately held drug distribution company at the time he sold it to Cardinal Health for some $1.3 billion.
“[Trump] would be an amazing president,” Rahr told DSN in an interview about the deal and what life after Kinray held in store for the self-made tycoon — among the 400 wealthiest people in the U.S., according to Forbes magazine. “He possesses the attributes the country needs. He’s intelligent and a tremendous negotiator. He’s a leader in every sense of the word, and he loves America.”
True to his word, Rahr played an important, albeit quiet, behind-the-scenes role during the election. According to published reports, a Donald Trump promise to veterans last March was paid for with a check from the Stewart Rahr Foundation, and rumors are that Rahr could be rewarded for his loyalty with an ambassadorship.
All that said, back in 2010 — hell, even just a week ago — a lot of people thought he was crazy. In a December 2010 DSN online poll, 74% of users believed that a Trump White House would be bad for the industry.
Fast-forward to 2016, and a series of DSN polls about the Presidential race would play out very much like the actual election: 58% of users believed a Trump presidency would be better for business; 50% believed it would be better for health care, and 51% said they planned to vote for Trump.
Who would have known that a DSN online poll could be more accurate than any pollster in America in the weeks and days leading up to Election Day?
"The key takeaway is that Americans today feel disenfranchised, disillusioned and disappointed — conservatives as much as liberals. That is why the election turned out as it did. Voters — consumers — want to feel connected to something, something that is meaningful. Half of America felt that they were not.”
There is no question that our country is more deeply divided now than any time since the Vietnam War. Certainly, millennials — which retailers and brand marketers spend so much time trying to reach these days — have never experienced anything like this. If you were watching the demonstrations that broke out in cities across America on the day after the elections, you saw a lot of young faces in the crowd.
The key takeaway is that Americans today feel disenfranchised, disillusioned and disappointed — conservatives as much as liberals. That is why the election turned out as it did. Voters — consumers — want to feel connected to something, something that is meaningful. Half of America felt that they were not.
That message is as true for retailers and CPG companies as it is for political candidates. More than ever, purpose matters. What your brand stands for matters. Authenticity matters.
And complacency kills. Just ask Hillary Clinton and the millions of her supporters that got a big surprise last Tuesday.
Rob Eder is Editor in Chief/Associate Publisher of Drug Store News.