Today’s post is from Makenna Crocker.
Something I’ve paid attention to throughout the last year has not only been the way in which a brand responds to a social issue, but how quick they are to make a statement about it. With issues like the Black Lives Matter movement, COVID-19, the US presidential election and more, it seems obvious that brands should feel the need to be part of the conversation but some may not know where they stand.
Following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the nationwide protests and riots that pursued, some brands were quick to release statements on the issue. Nike put out a video from Wieden + Kennedy Portland that spoke on the issue of racism with a change of their slogan to “For Once, Don’t Do It”. Disney, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and the NFL were all quick to speak on the issue as well.
Ad Age now has a regularly updated blog that tracks “brands’ responses to racial injustice”. It sheds light on what marketers, agencies, and media companies are doing to stand against racism and for racial equality.
I assume a lot of the hesitation regarding making statements or content around these issues would be the risk of not saying the right thing; brands may be worried about being too political and losing customers as well. They may also feel that some issues don’t apply to them. For instance, clothing companies might feel disengaged with political topics, and artists may feel they don’t belong in conversations about climate change. SAAS (software as a service) companies might not feel like their stance on racial injustice matters to their audience. The list goes on. While the connection between some of these issues and various companies isn’t always a direct cause and effect, where businesses stand on these issues matters. We as consumers are listening. We care. Silence is not a safety net.
Brands should take note on what the above companies have done in response to these issues, but should also be prepared to make their own statements without always waiting to follow suit. Rather than holding off to see how other companies in the industry respond to social issues, brands should know where they stand and be vocal and prompt about their response. This stems from having a strong brand identity and core company values that do not silence when the threat of losing business is at stake. The social and ethical responsibility of a brand as an entity that impacts this world is much larger than their ability to sell products, and we as consumers want transparency, accountability, and to know that brands care above all.