Why Scott Galloway Is Choosing to Resist and Unsubscribe | Office Hours

Episode Overview

• In this "Office Hours" episode, Scott Galloway addresses listener questions about his "Resist and Unsubscribe" campaign, which encourages consumers to cancel subscriptions to Big Tech services as a form of political protest against Donald Trump and corporate influence.
• The discussion explores the efficacy of economic pressure versus political outrage, debating whether boycotts can actually influence presidential behavior or corporate strategy.
• Galloway fields questions on the potential negative externalities of this strategy (such as layoffs or partisan backlash) and why targeting subscription revenue is more effective than targeting advertising revenue.
• The episode serves as a strategic framework for consumer activism, arguing that in a capitalistic democracy, "voting with your wallet" via subscription cancellation is the most potent signal citizens can send.

Key Concepts

• Economic Pressure as a Political Lever: Galloway posits that the current political landscape, particularly under leaders like Donald Trump, is responsive primarily to market signals rather than traditional political outrage. He argues that economic indicators (like the S&P 500) have become the "ultimate arbiters of success," meaning political change is best achieved by threatening the economic metrics that leaders care about most.

• The Asymmetric Impact of Subscription Revenue: A central thesis is that subscription revenue is far more valuable to Big Tech valuations than transactional revenue (like grocery spending). Because tech stocks are "priced to perfection" based on projected subscription growth, a relatively small decline in subscribers can cause a disproportionately large drop in market capitalization. This makes subscription cancellation a "high-leverage" punch compared to boycotting lower-margin goods.

• Soft Tissue Targeting: Galloway uses the metaphor of "soft tissue" to describe where activism should be directed. He identifies the stock market as the administration's soft tissue, and Big Tech as the soft tissue of the market. By targeting these sensitive areas, consumers can generate an outsized impact without needing mass mobilization or complete economic withdrawal.

• The Limitations of Targeting Advertisers: While advertisers fund platforms like Meta, Galloway argues that pressuring them is inefficient (punching the "thigh" instead of the "groin"). Advertisers are fragmented, and if consumers keep buying products, companies will keep advertising. Furthermore, Big Tech platforms have near-monopoly power, meaning advertisers often have nowhere else to go to reach audiences at scale.

• Consumer Agency in a Capitalist System: The discussion reframes the role of the individual from a passive consumer to an active participant with power. Galloway emphasizes that while citizens cannot easily stop working or buying essentials, they have discretionary power over their media diets and subscriptions. This shifts the narrative from helplessness to empowerment through selective non-participation.

Quotes

• At 0:00 - "The ripple from the... stone, you could throw a giant stone into most spending for most companies and the ripple effect is barely felt. Whereas just a little pebble of disruption in subscription revenue across big tech might create a tidal wave of reaction from the market." - explaining the disproportionate leverage consumers hold over tech valuations compared to traditional retail.

• At 3:44 - "If you're looking for a way to start hitting back, you want to find the soft tissue, and the soft tissue here is the markets, and the soft tissue within the soft tissue of the markets is in fact Big Tech who I think are most vulnerable to a slowdown." - clarifying the strategic logic behind targeting specific tech giants rather than a general economic boycott.

• At 8:53 - "Two-thirds of Americans now get their news from social media, and two-thirds of social media is controlled by one company... I hate coal-fired plants, but I'm still going to turn on my lights." - illustrating the monopoly power of platforms like Meta and why boycotting them as an advertiser or user is practically difficult compared to canceling paid subscriptions.

Takeaways

• Audit your digital subscriptions immediately: Review your monthly recurring payments to Big Tech companies (streaming services, premium apps, cloud storage) and cancel non-essential services to signal economic dissatisfaction.
• Focus activism on high-valuation metrics: When choosing where to boycott, prioritize companies where growth is priced into their stock (subscription models) rather than low-margin transactional businesses (grocery or retail), as the market reaction will be swifter and more severe.
• Leverage the power of "non-participation": Recognize that you do not need to take to the streets or risk your employment to be politically active; simply withholding your discretionary capital from specific sectors creates a measurable data point that corporate leadership cannot ignore.