Should your brand say or do something? Consumers want you to.
Consumers want companies and brands to have character, to be rooted and governed by a belief structure and values. In a recent question we fielded with consumers, we found that 62 percent of respondents agreed that they “want to support companies and brands that stand up for their beliefs.”* That skewed more strongly towards women with almost 7 out of 10 women agreeing with this statement compared to 5 out of 10 men.
So, it begs the question—are you clear on your brand’s beliefs? Do you have what you stand for and against articulated to help your team govern the brand’s behavior? There are times when leaders can and should take a thoughtful, considered approach to policies, such as the example from PayPal below. Yet, there are other times when cultural moments require quick decision making. In those instances, you want to be able to be relevant and act in a timely manner. In a time of crisis or opportunity, be clear on if your company and brand should speak up or not. To do so, it’s helpful to have clarity on your brand purpose and beliefs and develop examples that can help guide brand behavior in the moment.
Consider these few examples that show us how it’s been done:
As reported in this New York Times article, PayPal does not allow the platform’s use for the selling of guns and ammunition. CEO Dan Schulman had this to say in his interview:
“Companies, and by extension their management teams and their C.E.O.s, have a moral obligation to try to be a force for good. I don’t think there’s any way that we can shirk that responsibility, and I don’t think there’s any way to fully stand away from the culture wars around us. You have to take a stand. That stand shouldn’t be a political one. But it should be one that is based on your values and your mission.”
More specifically around guns or platform use by certain parties:
“If you’re going to have a consistent set of values that you stand up for, they have to be reflected in your acceptable use policy. Around the violence in Charlottesville [in the summer of 2017], we identified a number of groups that espouse hate or violence, and we don’t allow them to use PayPal to fund-raise.”
When the Supreme Court ruled to uphold President Trump’s Muslim travel ban in June 2018, Airbnb publicly posted their disagreement with the ruling and commented on how it goes against their ethos. The company’s recent ad campaign speaks directly to this point with the company advocating their contrasting beliefs.
Everlane is another company that spoke out against the ban and also stood up for the families being separated at the border, which both happened in the same month. A post on Instagram started with, “Human rights are at the core of our mission—and we’re in a humanitarian crisis…. Throughout all the chaos, the ACLU has fought tirelessly to protect our basic human rights. They’ve been a longtime partner of ours through our 100% Human initiative, but today, we’re donating an additional $25,000 towards their continued efforts.” The company’s 100% Human Collection and its partnership with the ACLU were already established and wholly consistent with its mission. In this moment, they were able to utilize their platform and the programs they’ve created to act and engage with their consumer community around shared beliefs. Not only did the company donate further to the cause, it also encouraged its consumers to participate in the Families Belong Together marches.
You still may not feel that your brand can take as strong of a stand as these businesses and around these types of topics. But, the premise still holds—what will your brand stand up for, fight for, encourage? If you are a food brand, it could be about enjoying food in community with others. If you are a clothing brand, it could be about celebrating the expression of one’s unique self through fashion. If you are a children’s brand, it could be about celebrating the kid in all of us and the concept of play. Today’s consumers are seeking trusted brands with which they can feel affiliation and belonging. Standing up for what your company believes in is a way to demonstrate you’re for them.
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*Source: Data from an omnibus study conducted by ProdegeMR with 500 U.S. adults ages 18+, June 2018.