Big brands have become the most visible battleground in America’s culture wars. Boards are rethinking the risks of LGBTQ messaging and other issues.
Leila Fadel, host:
Big brands have become the most visible battleground in America’s culture wars. This Pride Month alone has seen boycotts and protests at Target, Bud Light, Starbucks, and even the Los Angeles Dodgers over their support of LGBTQ people. NPR’s girlfriend Alina Selyukh weighs in on the issue. Should brands take a stand on social or political issues?
ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: The first thing I want to clarify is that not all companies are brands. Your local grocery store just wants to sell you snacks, but brands want to connect with you on a deep level.
Marcus Collins: You know, my razors are getting sharper and my toothpaste has 25% more fluoride. It’s not that exciting.
Seluk: Marcus Collins is a marketing expert at the University of Michigan.
COLLINS: But if you say my brand of ice cream should dismantle white supremacy, you’re like, hey, Nelly. That’s a powerful thing.
Selyuk: He says the strongest brands, like Apple and Tesla, want to be part of your identity. Because that way you not only buy things from that brand, but also promote that brand. Add social media to a highly divided society…
Collins: We go to great lengths to show who we are and who we are not.
Selyuk: And when we disagree, we want to distance ourselves dramatically. People boycotted Spotify over disinformation on its podcasts and Goya over its CEO’s praise of Donald Trump. They burned Nike shoes for supporting Colin Kaepernick as he knelt for the national anthem. Target stores and Bud Light factories are currently receiving bomb threat calls. Boardrooms are rethinking the risks of LGBTQ messages.
Collins: Well, it was convenient to put a rainbow in June because it was less likely to get a backlash.
Selyuk: Today, conservatives are raising the stakes. Ron DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates have embraced the tradition that corporations should stick to the basics of making and selling things and distance themselves from “woke” issues like transgender rights and climate change. He conducts election activities based on his principled views. Carlos Ball, a law professor at Rutgers University, argues that this underestimates the power of American companies.
Carlos Ball: I think it’s a mistake to look at them only as providers of goods and services. They have always been and always will be more.
Selyuk: Large companies set hiring standards and cultural trends. They lobby lawmakers and fund advocacy groups. For example, companies were far ahead of the courts when it came to LGBTQ workplace rights. And these days, companies are under a lot of pressure to take a stand. Young people say in surveys that they want to know the value of their brand. Shareholders are also beginning to demand this.
Kimberly Whitler: There’s a belief that you have to choose a side.
Seluk: Kimberly A. Whitler is currently a longtime marketing executive at the University of Virginia.
Whitler: But what we’re seeing is that it’s damaging the brand.
Seluk: Brand boycotts often have little economic impact. In the long run, people forget and move on. But Whitler said research suggests taking a stand on divisive issues can damage a brand’s reputation. And for brands built around mass appeal, wanting to make a stand creates special challenges that worry about alienating some of the audience.
Whitler: Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, these brands were born to liberals, and there’s nothing wrong with them being liberal. The difficulty comes when companies are born in large numbers and then want to start shifting.
Selyuk: Can big mass brands reach all sides of the ideological spectrum, and how? For Whitler, that’s the biggest question of the moment. Collins, of the University of Michigan, argues that a big reason why the impact on Target, especially Bud Light, has been so great is because of its two-sidedness (ph). He says the two have supported the LGBTQ community for years, but flinched when they were attacked. Target took off its Pride-themed clothing, and Bud Light even issued a meandering apology.
COLLINS: And not only did they lose the people who were offended and offended in the first place, but they also lost the people who then supported them for years to play out the middle of this myth.
Selyuk: People who aren’t really into investing might choose a different beer to not participate in everything. I asked him if the brand appeals to everyone.
Collins: Guys? I think that’s a myth. Not everyone is the same.
Selyuk: That said, many brands will continue to challenge themselves, finding ways to be both exciting and popular at the same time.
Alina Selyuk, NPR News.
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