22/10/2024
What an interesting conundrum! - BUSINESSES need to be seen as being GOOD CORPORATE CITIZENS, but INSINCERE and EVEN GENUINE COMMITMENT to causes can bring COMPANIES UNDER SOCIAL MEDIA ATTACK. Is it time for Brands to completely butt out of societal, environmental, and political issues today ? … where customers can be so vocal about their expectations of businesses, it’s almost no-win. For some people - brands should make reliable products that work, and nothing else!
It used to be that businesses that did the right thing had a good reputation, whereas many businesses today worry that doing the right thing will put them at more risk than doing nothing at all. The way brands navigate reputation and image has changed in a world overwhelmed by social media, where customers can be more vocal about their expectations of their favourite (and hated) brands
Brands have spent a lot of time and effort trying to address the societal, environmental, and political issues that matter most to their stakeholders.
But in divided societies where reputation is not only based on facts, but on beliefs, where a high-profile anti-woke movement is telling businesses to butt out, brands can feel like they are walking a tightrope. It’s no longer enough to pledge support for a cause. Organisations need to demonstrate a sustained and meaningful commitment to all the causes they support.
“But here’s the kicker, even when they do all of that, they can still come under attack. So has brand purpose run its course? Are businesses virtue signalling? Should businesses back off from societal and political issues and let the government rebuild bridges in our divided societies?” asked Warr.
Should businesses get involved in social and political issues?
This article - With thanks to B and T - read more at https://email.bandt.com.au/c/1UciEP1CxHXScMRdWTk0IYido
We might look to Patagonia, a brand that values sustainability and an outdoor lifestyle. The brand closed its retail stores on Black Friday in a bid to get people outside. The decision wasn’t political necessarily, but an example of being true to a brand’s values and doing what consumers expect of you.
“I think there was a period five years ago where small groups online convinced businesses that they needed to put the LGBTQIA plus flag, or Black Lives Matter support, or any of these things. We’ve since realised that most of this is frippery. It is a distraction from the fact that Woolies is destroying farmers’ lives and price gouging with their duopoly. As a result, if you’re smart, which most consumers are, you realise at this point what is going on.
“A lot of this stuff is just a shallow commitment to a trend which is good for a marketing department coming into work that day and the printing department having things to print, but not much else,” added Shah.
HOW DO WE FIX IT?
Social media’s echo chamber can disjoint our beliefs with real, lived reality. Carland suggested that we seek out news sources as well as people that we don’t agree with, to open up our minds to why people have different opinions.
I totally agree with this, rather than hoping for confirmation bias, we should seek the most well informed of the opposite side and find out all we can. ( writers note)
“This ensures that I don’t come to the point where my only possible explanation for someone else’s point of view is because they’re evil or stupid,” said Carland.
For some, like Shah, brands should make reliable products that work, and nothing else. For others, especially younger generations, there is more pressure on brands to take a stance on social issues. Expecting brands to be decent might be a good starting point. Expecting them to solve society’s problems might be asking too much. As Brack said, “We are not the UN. We cannot solve everything”.
Image with thanks , Daniel Kwabena Owusu, MBA
