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FIGHTING THE DEVIL: The Focused Boycott How can we effectively fight mega corporations, powerful individuals, politicians, or political parties when their sheer size makes it all but impossible? Especially when their products or structures have become an everyday necessity in our lives. We’ve all been searching for an answer to that for a long time! In 1999, a group of grassroots activists from around the nation began addressing that question in earnest. And surprisingly, it appears they found an answer. It’s called a “Focused Boycott” and in its simplest terms, it involves dissecting the problem into its components and then zeroing in on the most vulnerable point. In the case of most corporate targets, the end result is hitting them where it hurts the most... in the pocketbook! Let’s look at the successful CNN boycott as an example. CNN specializes in reporting on tragedies and like the devil itself, CNN has always been "Johnny On The Spot." As a result of this timely reporting, CNN has always enjoyed top ratings in spite of their poor reputation for integrity, factual reporting, or objectivity. The challenge then, was how do you impact a mammoth, arrogant outfit such as CNN when they basically have the market sewed up? Reality suggested it would be near impossible to lower CNN’s audience enough to impact advertising rates. But what about going for the juggler... their advertisers? By their greed and lack of conscience, CNN’s advertisers were just as complicit in the garbage CNN was broadcasting as CNN itself. And as such, they became legitimate boycott targets. And this is exactly how the "Focused Boycott" was born. Dissect the problem and go after the most vulnerable points. In the CNN case, the grassroots committee selected one company each quarter from those advertising on CNN and "awarded" that company with a 12 month boycott. Now that's fairly easy to handle! Some may have found it difficult to completely tune out CNN, but it's fairly easy to avoid one advertisers' product(s), especially when competitors can easily fill their shoes! And since no one knew the name of the "lucky winner" until after the quarter has closed, this presented advertisers with several major problems:
By any measure, the CNN boycott was a success. But even though we were having a decided impact, CNN’s actual “coup de grace” was the emergence of the Fox News Channel (not to be confused with your local Fox Network channel). As decisions are made to host other boycotts, the same “formula” will be used to bring about an expeditious resolution. And with your help, we’ll all be successful! To return to the HOME page, click HERE To leave a comment or suggestion, click HERE To return to the “Successes”, click HERE To return to the “Active Boycotts” index, click HERE To return to the HOME page, click HERE To leave a comment, click HERE To join our confidential email list, click HERE To navigate further throughout the Boycott Network, please use the links on either side or the bottom of this page.
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