Solidarity Sunday: Beyond the Clicks
Back in May 2024, we published a Solidarity Sunday called "Digital Snake Oil". In it, we alerted unions about an uncomfortable truth: the digital marketing industry is full of vendors selling smoke and mirrors. They promise reach, impressions, and clicks—but not results. Since then, the stakes have only gotten higher.
Case in point: A recent federal lawsuit brought by a union pension fund against a major ad tech company has revealed how deep the deception goes. The allegation? That the vendor systematically billed clients for ad impressions that were never seen by real people—just bots. These vendors claimed their fraud-detection systems were working, all while knowingly letting invalid traffic through and charging full price for it. Real union dollars, spent on fake clicks.
This is exactly the kind of digital trickery we warned about.
At Union Up, we don't play that game. That's why we charge a subscription fee. Because you're not buying a short-term digital burst—you're building long-term organizing infrastructure. We don't charge by the click. We don't guarantee impressions. Why? Because impressions don't matter— leads do.
Too many vendors are experts at making numbers look good:
• Fake traffic.
• Useless impressions.
• Click-through rates from bots.
• Display ads that run on low-quality websites.
All designed to generate flashy metrics that don't translate to real-world action.
What's missing is performance—and purpose.
Relational vs. Transactional Media
There's also a misunderstanding about what media is even for. Some media is relational—radio, TV, podcasts, social content. People engage with it to be entertained, to pass the time, to feel connected.
Then there's transactional media— Google searches, review sites, local business directories. People use these when they're actively trying to make a decision or complete a task.
If someone sees your logo during a football game or hears your radio ad on their way to work, that doesn't mean they're pulling over to join your local right then and there. That's not how media—or people—work.
It's like saying, "We put a sign up at the stadium—why didn't we get a hundred new members that night?"
Because most people weren't in the market for what you're offering— yet.
That's why Union Up focuses on infrastructure, strategy, and consistency. The goal isn't to win a popularity contest on digital dashboards. The goal is to grow your membership, strengthen your brand, and build trust. You want people to like you, know you, and think of you first when they are ready.
What Success Really Looks Like
We're here to improve your organizing capacity—not just your digital vanity stats. That means:
- More member leads
- Smarter audience targeting
- A brand that builds influence over time
- Real people connecting with your message
We charge a subscription because what we deliver is a system—not a spike. And in a digital world built to fool you, that's the only way to win.