The Ideologies of Sand Cloud
When broaching the topic of environmentalism, it is difficult to hold the necessary conversations required for changes to ever take place. Surrounding any social movement, group, organization, or person, there will be distinct ideologies that define that figure. An ideology, as Sonja Foss describes, “is a pattern of beliefs that determines a group’s interpretations of some aspect(s) of the world” (Foss, 2004, p. 209).
Many people aren’t quite sure where to begin to make a change. Some companies then come up with ideas for consumers to buy eco-friendly products that support the environmentalism movement. One such company is Sand Cloud, a beach towel company whose mission “is to save marine life. 10% of net profits are donated to non-profits that share our vision,” as their Facebook page reads. After analyzing the social media discourse surrounding the company, I believe the base ideology that surrounds Sand Cloud’s specific market and target audience under the wide umbrella of environmentalism is one that turns the topic of environmentalism into a positive and inspiring one rather than a message of ‘doom and gloom’. Their followers and customers are enthusiastic about finding fun and upbeat ways to promote environmentalism and joining the social movement. Sand Cloud seeks to tackle a specific area of environmentalism, which is preserving our oceans and saving marine life. There are other branches of environmentalism that focus on animals, trees, or recycling to name a few, so I think by finding a niche within the environmental ecology, their brand creates a focused group. There are three main ideologies that I have identified surrounding the company: consumerism, community, and connection. The community includes their brand ambassadors who do the bulk of the work for spreading the word on social media. The connections stem from their professional network that includes their partners they sponsor. What makes Sand Cloud unique in comparison to other towel companies or organizations with the same goal is their intriguing manipulation of consumerism and capitalism. Sand Cloud is a business that contributes to capitalism, while at the same time uses the system to influence their followers and share their mission of preservation. After analyzing the discourse surrounding Sand Cloud’s social media presence, we see that Sand Cloud’s balance of consumerism and capitalism, their two predominant ideologies, allows them to utilize their social media presence in an effective way that differentiates them from other competitors with similar missions.
Sand Cloud’s Origins
To begin, it is necessary to understand exactly what Sand Cloud is and its origins. Sand Cloud is a beach towel brand which started in 2013, and gained increasing popularity after their debut on season 8 of Shark Tank, February 24, 2017. The three friends Steven Ford, Brandon Leibel, and Bruno Aschidamini from San Diego, CA quit their jobs to pursue their passion for saving marine life and protecting our oceans. The towels are made from Turkish Cotton, and each towel is hand-dyed. Their investor, Robert Herjavec, offered $200,000 for a 15% stake. After this, their sales skyrocketed and they are now one of the most popular brands of its kind amongst millennials. Their appearance on the famous TV show on ABC was the initial establishment of their ethos, thus more people were attracted to the brand. How did they do it? Sand Cloud utilizes rhetorical strategies to influence their followers’ ideologies, in order to effectively establish their digital identity.
Watch this YouTube video that breaks down their method and keys to their success.
Ideology of Consumerism
The Sand Cloud follower base seems to all share the same base ideology: protecting and preserving our environment through a positive community and eco-friendly products. Within this ideology, there are other rhetorical methods that influence their followers and prove that the various methods the company uses are successful. The first method they use targets consumers with their short and catchy mission statement: “Our mission is to save marine life and protect our oceans” (sandcloudtowels.com) as well as utilizing the popular hashtag #savethefishies as seen in the following examples.
This mission statement is straightforward, catchy, and encourages people to buy into the eco-friendly company. The company specifically targets millennials, who are arguably the most aware of our planet’s situation. One of Sand Clouds biggest ideologies centers around consumerism. Millennials are looking for products, companies, and organizations they can support and not feel like they are contributing to big business.
In a multimodal text called “MOAR Digital Activism, Please” by Lauri Goodling, she states that “Consumers are using the Internet to make more informed buying decisions, and businesses use the Internet and social networking systems to both market products and services and elicit feedback from their customers.”
There is a shift to mindful buying and smart buying within the millennial community and Sand Cloud’s use of repetition throughout their various social media pages helps to sell their product.
Within Consumerism, there is the inevitable link to Capitalism. What makes Sand Cloud’s rhetoric so fascinating is how they choose to market their towels so people feel comfortable justifying their reasons for buying a $47 or $99 towel. Their towels cost a great deal considering they only cost $10 to make, however people like to think that they are contributing to a good cause, which is what differentiates them from their competitors. If the towel were just $99, no one would buy it. Because they donate 10% to their environmental partners, the prices of the towels are more justifiable. As a bonus, they constantly have discounts on their website like when you subscribe to their email list, and they offer discounts for all sorts of holidays such as Fourth of July, birthdays, Christmas, etc. Ultimately, their towels are not as badly priced as many think because there are frequent discount codes that are widely available.
There are, of course, some people who still see through this capitalism technique, as seen in the example below.
This argument is not directly attacking the company’s mission itself, but is only looking at the extravagant price for a beach towel. Just because someone may think that $99 is too pricey for a towel, that does not prove that they are against the mission of saving and preserving marine life.
However, based on the likes and shares Sand Cloud receives, it is evident that their company is a success because of their choice to focus more on their mission rather than on the product itself.
For example, the pictures of their #savethefishies fun fact of the day posts displaying cute marine animals get more likes than the ones featuring the towels and products themselves.
Sand Cloud’s social media posts that feature animals get significantly more likes (an average of 11,000-14,000) than the ones that show their products (7,000-9,000). Their choice to focus on their mission rather than the products themselves is undeniably effective which sets them apart from their competitors.
Ideology of Community
Secondly, Sand Cloud advertises for brand ambassadors to promote their product. These brand ambassadors are each assigned a discount code of 25% and are encouraged to share it and spread the word for all to use it. The ambassadors themselves receive their own discount of 40% off all products.
Using brand ambassadors to help spread the word about their product is an effective rhetorical strategy they use because the majority of their ambassadors are millennials who have various social media accounts. They take photos of their products to visually show others what their products look like, and use the hashtags #savethefishies and #diditforthetowel to create a sense of community. People who either buy the products or see others who have the products are then inspired to spread the word. When a consumer knows that they are buying into a product that supports a cause they also support, you find a community that contributes to the overall sense of belonging. The ambassadors attribute to this communal ideology of Sand Cloud which makes it feel like you are joining their team if you buy the products.
The Sand Cloud team even replies directly to followers’ comments and posts to their pages.
Replying directly encourages this sense of acceptance and community between the consumer and the company which increase the personal connection on all sides. They also constantly remind their followers about the significance and value their support has provided for the company.
As Goodling (n.d.) says, “The power of social influence on behavior cannot be dismissed, and in social networking sites especially, we need to have a good understanding of how to harness that power and use it to increase participation in both online and offline activities.”
Ideology of Connection
Finally, they advertise the other non-profit organizations that they support which, in turn, helps to spread their message and also helps establish the company’s ethos, or credibility.
Sand Cloud uses its connections to famous nonprofit organizations such as the Marine Conservation Institute and Hawai’i Wildlife Fund to further expand their company name as well as establish credibility. These partners also spread Sand Cloud’s message on their own social media platforms, as seen below.
They also include which news networks and magazines they have appeared in as well. By displaying the magazines, TV shows, and other news that mentions them in the press, they build upon their ethos as a company and brand name. Doing this also helps them form more professional connections to share their mission and get the word out.
Like Stacey Pigg says in her work Coordinating Constant Invention: Social Media’s Role in Distributed Work, “We need to understand the turn to social media as a common practice, in part, so that technical and professional communication teachers, researchers, and practitioners can continue to trace how these infrastructures mediate individuals’ attention and impact the fine-grained detail of how symbolic work unfolds” (Pigg, 2014 p. 731).
The followers of Sand Cloud as well as other environmentalists will feel confident that they are supporting an eco-friendly brand if they see that organizations like Marine Conservation Institute are supported by Sand Cloud. The talk about the product on reputable news sites also boosts the ideology of connection because the message creates a shared goal among the followers. By utilizing their professional network via social media, Sand Cloud boosts its image and brand on a global scale.
Disputes/Counter-Arguments
Now that we have looked at the positive ideologies that surround Sand Cloud, there are some counter-arguments that the company faces. One of the largest arguments is that their products are heavily marketed for women, despite the company being founded by three men.
The majority of their brand ambassadors are women, so I feel like there is some validity to this argument. As seen in the Facebook comments, Sand Cloud claims their towels are unisex and that they are working on creating more masculine patterns. Their original goal was to market to all sexes, however the result was that women and millennials turned out to be the largest group that buys the product. This was an effect of consumerism, despite what they envisioned originally. While this does pose a minor problem for the company if they wish to attract all consumers, I don’t believe it distracts from the overall ideology of people who might be interested in this product.
Still others see their use of plastic packaging as a contradiction to their mission and wish for more eco-friendly packaging, as seen from the comments on Facebook and Instagram.
Another dispute that I have about Sand Cloud is that they might focus too much on their products rather than encouraging others to actively participate in saving the environment. While 10% of their profits do indeed go towards the non-profit organizations they’re partnered with, their social media posts don’t contain a sense of activism like some of the organizations they support. They focus predominantly on their products instead of sharing or organizing beach cleanups or other environmental protests like their partners do.
The one Instagram post by SandCloud even says “collect moments, not things” and yet the entire goal of their company is to sell towels and other merchandise to donate 10% to the cause. I find it a bit ironic that they advertise to collect moments when their entire purpose is to sell ‘things,’ even if it is for as good a cause as theirs. Going back to the idea of consumerism, this is the strategy they use that makes them so popular. In the YouTube breakdown, it was stated that “they claim that millennials need a social cause to get behind in order to support a business.” Millennials and other customers buy from them because they are influenced and encouraged by the social cause to save marine life, however the accumulation of more and more ‘things’ to support this cause seems contradictory to what environmentalism actually is.
Other critics say that passively ‘liking’ or ‘sharing’ social media posts is not a true form of activism, and won’t evoke any sort of change to take place. Curing hunger takes more than just one ‘like’ or ‘share.’ The task demands physical and mental exertion. The same can be said for activism and if that’s indeed the case, then how does Sand Cloud continue to promote this ongoing platform of discussion about environmentalism?
As Goodling (n.d.) says, “If we dismiss the notion of feel-good passive activism…and embrace the parallel efforts and expanded circulation afforded in the online world, we might be able to direct our focus to the education of Americans, particularly young Americans, on how to do this digital advocacy work effectively. Whether this change is quantifiable, like an increase in voting activity, or anecdotal, like exposing millions to a message of support for a cause they might not have otherwise vocalized, it is undeniable that social networking is a platform for awareness raising activities.”
Conclusion
Overall, from what I found there really isn’t a great deal of bad publicity surrounding the Sand Cloud company. From the comments we’ve seen from the discourse community, I believe that Sand Cloud generates a primarily positive conversation about environmentalism and contributes to the attraction of saving marine life through their merchandise. There isn’t much difference in the ideologies surrounding Sand Cloud and the way they approach the topic of environmentalism; all three can even be connected and related to each other. In short, my findings are as follows:
- Sand Cloud followers share the same base ideology of being inspired to protect and preserve marine life.
- Sand Cloud uses the ideologies of consumerism and capitalism to promote their product. (Buying into the good cause).
- Sand Cloud creates a sense of community and family through the use of brand ambassadors.
Their success has a great deal to do with the way they promote their products as well as how they go about doing so. They use many rhetorical strategies such as visuals, ethos, pathos, and style. By focusing their promotion predominantly on images of marine life and talking about their mission rather than their product, they generate a great deal of discussion on social media. They use catchy hashtags and have an easily recognizable logo which allows for easier sharing access for social media users. Targeting millennials is also another effective strategy they use because millennials are the ones who are most likely to be affected by the impacts of environmental neglect. Sand Cloud has thus appeared to have discovered the best way to tackle the environmental issue. By giving the public a product they can feel good about purchasing, they create a communal public space for discussion about the environment, with a fun and upbeat twist.
Ultimately, “we should remember that any degree of engagement is better than no degree of engagement” (Goodling, n.d.). Sand Cloud’s encouragement of smart consumerism influences millennials to buy into something worthwhile.
Fair Use Statement:
This digital text contains source material taken without the expressed consent of the original creators of the content. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
- Purpose and Character of Use: I am using this content for solely academic purposes. I am not making any attempts to recreate or redistribute any of these works as my own. The context I have provided explaining the sources is meant for readers to have a better understanding of these sources and can apply them to the scholarly project presented in this post.
- Nature of Copyrighted Work: The works are all on public display on the social media accounts from the various authors, organizations or contributors. I have appropriately cited all of the social media discourse used in this post.
- Amount Used: I only use the social media posts and screenshots when necessary to illustrate a point or provide meaning to my audience. In addition, I use one supplementary YouTube video about the company’s breakdown so readers can learn in simpler terms how Sand Cloud gained its success.
- Impact on Market: This social media discourse analysis does not provide an analysis of only the company like a critique, but rather it focuses on the inner-workings and indirect connections to it within the company’s rhetorical ecology. I believe that readers will have a broader knowledge of the connections and ideologies surrounding the company after reading this analysis.
References:
Bakerr, N. [Nikki]. (2017, October 15). cute picture! If you’re really that proud to be an ambassador for this company then please stop using single-use plastic and promoting it!! 🐳 #savethefishies [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BaR8EimgXNz/
Bollinger, J. [Jenn]. (2017, October 1). I just became an ambassador yesterday! I’m so excited to start sharing my passion with friends and family. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandcloudapparel/community/?ref=page_internal
Conner, S. [Stephanie]. (2017, July 26). Ummmm wow a $99 towel…NO THANKS [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandcloudapparel/community/?ref=page_internal
Foss, K. S. (2004). Rhetorical Criticism: Ideological Criticism. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Goodling, L. (n.d.). “MOAR Digital Activism, Please.” Retrieved from http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/19.3/topoi/goodling/index.html
Hawai’i Wildlife Fund [wildhawaii]. (2017, September 27). MAHALO to #sand_cloud for the support… stay tuned for upcoming details on how you can win a SC towel 🙌🏼 RepostBy @bewellwithcl: “It’s still summer at the beach ☀️ // Shout-out to @sand_cloud for doing their part in supporting marine life conservation. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZjW5yOlddy/
Marshall, A. [Angela]. (2017, August 18). First off is like to say I love this company and what they stand for. I would however love to see eco friendly packaging as I was disappointed to receive my shirts in plastic bags. [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandcloudapparel/community/?ref=page_internal
Pigg, S.(2014). Coordinating Constant Invention: Social Media’s Role in Distributed Work. Technical Communication Quarterly, volume 23 (2), 731.
Robinson, M. [Matthew]. (2017, October 2). Are you ever going to create either unisex or mens towels? I saw this on shark tank or dragons den and I’ve been interested in your product but most seem to be geared towards mostly women! [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandcloudapparel/posts/?ref=page_internal
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, August 19). Into the mystic. 💙 #savethefishies #sandcloud [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BX_fw4egtG0/?taken-by=sand_cloud
Sand Cloud. [MySandCloud]. (2017, August 24). Our mission is to save Marine Life and Protect our Ocean’s ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ #savethefishies. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/MySandCloud/status/900780207593750528/photo/1
Sand Cloud. [MySandCloud]. (2017, August 27). Like & Re-tweet this post if you believe in our cause to save marine life. ❤ ❤ ❤ #savethefishies. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/MySandCloud/status/901896507477057536/photo/1
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, September 5). A HUGE shoutout to all of our amazing followers who have supported us since day 1. With your amazing support throughout the years, we have built a brand that we are truly proud of, and a company that has a [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BYqm5Vdg0ff/
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, September 8).#savethefishies Fact of The Day. A starfish can regenerate. But it takes a while. It can take up to a year for a lost limb to grow back #sandcloud [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BYyphfeADQA/
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, October 1).#savethefishies Fact of The Day! The greatest threats to sea turtles aren’t from natural predators; they are from humans. Accidental catch in commercial fisheries or entanglement in marine debris are serious threats to sea turtles, as well as destruction of [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZtaLQiAM05/
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, October 1). #savethefishies Fact #47 💡🐳 Like a human fingerprint, the tail of each humpback whale is unique. #sandcloud [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZukiOwg4_g/
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, October 2). There’s no such thing as too many Sand Cloud shirts.🔥🔥#sandcloud#savethefishies [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZw_Hb4gGPQ/
Sand Cloud. [MySandCloud]. (2017, October 5).Collect moments, not things. #savethefishies [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/MySandCloud/status/916008026590429184/photo/1
Sand Cloud [Sand_Cloud]. (2017, October 10). Left or Right? Which shirt is your favorite!?🔥🔥#sandcloud#savethefishies [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BaExSMxAf3O/
Sand Cloud. (n.d). [Organizations Sand Cloud supports] [Screenshot of website]. Retrieved from https://www.sandcloudtowels.com/pages/our-mission
Sand Cloud. (n.d). [What’s in the News] [Screenshot of website]. Retrieved from https://www.sandcloudtowels.com/pages/our-mission
Shelby Snyder. (2017, June 9). get yourself something cool from sandcloudtowels.com [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1849869145031992&set=pb.100000267745360.-2207520000.1508802587.&type=3&theater
Shipping Easy. (2017 September 7). We are over-the-moon excited for our customer @MySandCloud who clenched a @Shopify Build a Bigger Business Award! [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/i/web/status/905880919231397889
Surfrider Foundation [surfrider]. (2017, January 26). Let’s keep the momentum going, take action & stand up for the causes you care about. Join us and #makeadifferencefor the protection of our ocean, coasts and planet through a powerful activist network. Attend a #Surfrider chapter meeting, become a [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BPvbLv3l38V/
Surfrider Foundation [surfrider]. (2017, April 26). Join us at the People’s #ClimateMarch this Saturday, April 29, to send a strong message that climate change is impacting our ocean and coasts and we must address it! Visit peoplesclimate.org to learn more and to find a march near you [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BTW52t9AdjU/
Surfrider Foundation [surfrider]. (2017, April 29). Our beaches are at risk. President Trump signed an executive order yesterday to open up our coasts to #OffshoreDrilling. We’ve fought and won against drilling before. Time to do it again. Click the link in our profile and act now [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BTehLVpA92B/
Sweetpea, M. [Miranda]. (2017, August 1). I just want to say, thank you for producing this towel! The quality is remarkable! So pretty to lay on. Brings a smile to my face! Got it just in time for the beach. I will be buying [Facebook status update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandcloudapparel/community/?ref=page_internal
Wild Hawai’i [wildhawaii]. (2017, September 27). MAHALO to #sand_cloud for the support… stay tuned for upcoming details on how you can win a SC towel 🙌🏼 RepostBy @bewellwithcl: “It’s still summer at the beach ☀️ // Shout-out to @sand_cloud for doing their part in supporting marine life conservation. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZjW5yOlddy/
YouTube. (2017, February 27). Sand Cloud Shark Tank Breakdown [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPNVv0owSVQ
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