Brands haven’t hesitated to show support for those protesting police brutality against Black Americans鈥攂ut consumers are calling out companies that post a few words to social media without correcting inequalities within their own organizations
Since the murder of George Floyd on May 25, Instagram and other social media platforms have been filled with messages of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and promises to 鈥渄o better鈥 from brands.
But those words rang hollow if they weren鈥檛 backed by action, as many consumers and brand insiders were quick to point to the lack of diversity in companies鈥 leadership teams, advertising and elsewhere. Campaigns such as Pull Up for Change were established in response, built around holding brands accountable, and Ad Age is regularly updating a blog post that .
What the en masse response to protests has demonstrated is that the conversation around whether a brand should step up and take a stand is over. The new focus is around action. Brands cannot announce their stance without taking meaningful steps to practice what they preach.
Deposits of Goodwill
Ben & Jerry鈥檚 has a reputation for putting action behind its advocacy. In response to protests against systemic racism and police brutality against Black people, the brand calling on the U.S. to dismantle white supremacy and offered four specific steps to do so. The company鈥檚 Global Head of Activism that this is 鈥渘ot a marketing exercise.鈥
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The murder of George Floyd was the result of inhumane police brutality that is perpetuated by a culture of white supremacy. Link in profile for our full statement.
鈥淎 friend of mine messaged me鈥攈e鈥檚 a big fitness guy鈥 and he鈥檚 like, 鈥楳an, I don鈥檛 eat ice cream, but I鈥檓 buying Ben & Jerry鈥檚 now,鈥欌 says Americus Reed, marketing professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The reason Ben & Jerry鈥檚 call for action is believable, Reed says, is that activism is baked into the culture of the company. 鈥淲hat is your social justice footprint, so to speak? When I look back three, five, seven, 10 years, have you been making these, what I would call, deposits of goodwill? Have you been doing this kind of work outside of the spotlight?鈥
Anecdotal evidence, consumer surveys and academic research all suggest that taking a stand鈥攊n alignment with your company鈥檚 mission鈥攊s a worthy endeavor. Ben & Jerry鈥檚 frequently engages in activist work and continues to thrive as a brand (even among Reed鈥檚 non-ice-cream-consuming friends). As Reed explains, a great product or service paired with a shared value system only deepens a brand鈥檚 connection with the consumer.
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鈥淭he theory is, the [customers] we lose are going to be replaced with equal if not more of the type of people who will be more loyal,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey are coming into the tent not necessarily only because of how great your product is, but they鈥檙e coming into the tent because they believe your product, your company, your service, your organization, shares their same values.鈥
Not every company has a history similar to Ben & Jerry鈥檚, and they may be starting from scratch. To that end, Reed emphasizes the need to be unambiguous in your message and your plan for action. Saying your brand will do better without any concrete steps won鈥檛 stand up to scrutiny. He recommends bringing in outside voices to help craft a specific plan of action and to start sewing these values into the fabric of the brand.
鈥淵ou have to invest the psychic energy, the leadership impetus, and you have to build it into the DNA of what you鈥檙e doing,鈥 Reed says. 鈥淵ou have to bring in a diversity officer, you have to bring in the community, you have to bring in those voices that have not been heard. And you have to make them part of the conversation, but also part of the strategic, forward-looking approach that you鈥檙e going to use.鈥
Baking Action Into the Brand’s Culture
In the conversation about how brands can confront racism, much has been focused on diversifying a company鈥檚 staff. A clear line can be drawn from a diverse (and equally compensated) team to more inclusive products, services and advertising.
鈥淚t almost makes no sense to not take a good hard look and say, 鈥業f we want to appeal to the general market, so to speak, we must come to terms with the fact that the general market oftentimes does not look like the people in the room,鈥欌 says Bennett D. Bennett, principal at Aerialist. 鈥淒oes that mean you fire every person until you get to a point where it鈥檚 fully representative of that? No. But how do you start including the voices that usually are marginalized?鈥
Bennett also serves as vice president of partnerships at 600 & Rising, a new nonprofit dedicated to the advocacy and advancement of Black employees in the advertising industry. The name comes from the more than 600 Black agency professionals who calling for an end to racism. The letter included a list of 12 actions to address the problem, including making specific, measurable and public commitments to improve Black representation at all levels of agency staffing鈥攁 metric not currently tracked in the industry to indicate if any progress is being made.
Bennett says that inclusion of diverse voices extends beyond company rank and should also include hiring and investing in diverse creative partnerships and showcasing diverse voices in awards submissions. As consumers sat up and took note of who was posting to Instagram and who was doing the work, they鈥檙e likely to keep track of which brands keep it up.
鈥淗ow do we stake our claim at this table and say, yes, we care about our brand鈥檚 bottom line and about creating work that appeals to consumers, but how do we now become proactive?鈥 Bennett says. 鈥淏ecause the stuff that we鈥檙e doing in regard to the letter is reactive, but it also gives [companies] space to say, 鈥楲et鈥檚 do this and have a 鈥榶es, and?鈥 mentality to it.鈥欌
Continuing the work, even if there are some missteps along the way, is crucial to baking diversity into a brand鈥檚 DNA. Bennett references a quote he read recently: 鈥淚 will give you grace if you give me effort.鈥 If companies are willing to put in the work鈥攅ven if not perfect鈥攊t won鈥檛 go unnoticed or unappreciated. The more a brand diversifies its staff and partnerships, the more natural it becomes for anyone involved to question and reject insensitive output鈥攁nd the easier it becomes to lead with values.
鈥淭here鈥檚 all kinds of missteps that you can make, there鈥檚 a whole slew of challenges,鈥 Reed says. 鈥淲hat you have to do is be true to your truth, live your truth, you have to be true to what it is your company believes in. Whatever the consequences are, you live with it. … But I think a lot of companies don鈥檛 understand values-driven marketing because they鈥檝e never really done it.”
Illustration by Bill Murphy.
Sarah Steimer is a writer, editor, podcast producer, and yoga teacher living in Chicago. She has written for Marketing News, Chicago magazine, Culture magazine, the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, and other outlets.