“Hobo” Marketing
by CHICKMELIONfreelance
“Hobo” Marketing
There is a trend in marketing which may come as a surprise to a few. As cited by Trend Hunter Magazine (.com) It is the return of the “vagabond.” Now when you think about “hobos” your mind wanders to a time of the great depression where many people who lost homes and jobs traveled from place to place in search of that next meal... and Lord be willing ...a home. In researching the culture of “hoboism” it is interesting to note that the term goes a little further back than that; more to the civil war era of the mid 19th century. That’s where it’s roots spawn from. Men trying to wind their way back home in a desperate and nightmarish time in history. Either way the concept of “hoboism” creeps in as a spokesperson in times of belt tightening, losses and hardships. Not withstanding our own current slow crawl out of the global credit crisis, it is not a long stretch to imagine our own culture identifying and romanticizing our hobos of past. They were, as we are now forced to be...survivors.
And that is the heart of the marketing concept that is currently gravitating around “hoboism.” Yes, it is an actual marketable movement where even the fashion industry is climbing onboard designing and marketing “haute-couture” fashions as “Hobo-Chic.” Hey why not! In an industry which is expected to crank out innovative looks on an annual basis, it only stands to reason that the never before looked at possibilities of the vagabond lifestyle present themselves as fresh new avenues to exploit. Attitudes are changing! We over used our credit cards to look above our means. We paid a hefty price for it and now that we are all in the same cash crunching boat, it presents it’s self as a similar sense of comradery as our hobo heros once had.
It goes a little deeper than that too! With a global crisis looming and forewarned shortages of many necessary luxuries such as food, water, oil, electricity, (only to mention a few) we are learning to cut back. We are now very familiar with the term “green living” and even expectant of perhaps taking it to a whole new level in 2012, as doom sayers predict an all out global crisis or pandemic. Our cars are getting smaller, our vacations more closer to home....our products are suspiciously shrinking in size because the marketplace just can’t tolerate the price hikes any longer... and there is a quiet acceptance to this... we all have been familiarized with belt tightening and can empathize better with this movement. Now that we are eyeball deep in it ourselves.
Activism is also a key trigger that aids this movement. With an ever growing homeless and addiction problems, some very tragic and large scale natural disasters, and a few large scale environmental tragedies, people are getting ever loud about the direction and choices our culture calls for. Fearing our destiny, many social activists are taking very candid shots and using a medium no other generation had access before to get their point accross... the internet. We are on a daily basis reminded of humane frailty and the frailty that our own comforts offer. How it can all be gone in one moment. Yes we are all faced with the concept of “what if....” and trying to visualize ourselves surviving. Survival gear, survival kits... even businesses and governments and are faced with the ever importance of setting in place current continuity plans, just in case. It is safe then to say that this mind set is going to be around for quite some time. In light of that, it may well be something you as a marketer will want to consider when putting your voice out there in the marketplace in hopes of calling to and attracting your target market. A more human approach seems to be a key concept. Social media has blossomed because it understood and monopolized on it’s ability to offers a human voice to both marketer and market and I don't see much glitz and glam going down there either.
So what are the implications of “hobo” marketing? I think the key words are: down played, laid back, minimalist, free, care free, conscious, organic, comfortable and down sized. You know there was a code of ethics that the hobos of the past followed. It allowed for their survival in the harshest of conditions. it might well serve a purpose here to retell a few of them to you, so you can fully grasp the heart and soul of the movement ....( from wikipedia:)
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Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hobos.
Always try to find work, even if temporary, and always seek out jobs nobody wants.
By doing so you not only help a business along, but ensure employment should you return to that town again.
When no employment is available, make your own work by using your added talents at crafts.
Always respect nature, do not leave garbage where you are jungling.
If in a community jungle, always pitch in and help.
When traveling, ride your train respectfully, take no personal chances, cause no problems with the operating crew or host railroad, act like an extra crew member.
Help all runaway children, and try to induce them to return home.
Help your fellow hobos whenever and wherever needed, you may need their help someday.
If present at a hobo court and you have testimony, give it. Whether for or against the accused, your voice counts!
Goodness seems to be the prevalent message. in order to survive be good because in tight situations it becomes “we need to be able to live and work together” in order to make it through. Man, not much has changed has it? We are still struggling to attain success with the same pursuits, and far from crawling out of our economic woes, the hobo mindset will prevail as people look to the past in answering for an uncertain and expectedly difficult future. So it really isn’t too difficult as marketers to gear our messages towards a more compassionate and comradery oriented voice. It is after all the signs of times and we all know as marketers, to be effective in hitting our audience we best read the signs.
