Branding Rebels with a Cause

Companies are openly weighing in on controversial topics, such as police brutality and gun violence, challenging the long-held belief that brands need to stay impartial. “Major brands have become increasingly entangled in social and political debates and chief executives have become spokespeople for causes on the right and left,” according to The New York Times. This new role for company executives is taking hold quickly. Forbes writes that in 2020, 80 percent of marketing executives who participated in a survey “didn’t think they should take sides on politically charged issues.” But a year later, another survey showed that “43.5 percent of CMOs [thought it was] appropriate for brands to take a stance on legislation.”

These findings are consistent with the numerous businesses that acted against polarizing laws during the past year. For example, in April 2021, “corporations in Georgia and across the U.S. [were] taking forceful stances against the state’s new election law — which [included] several voting restrictions,” Time Magazine reported. “Major League Baseball announced it would move its All-Star Game out of Atlanta, citing their support for voting rights.” And so, political positions are becoming a facet of many brands, a facet that involves risks and benefits.

When Disney executives objected to a homophobic law in Florida, their relationship with state officials soured. In March, NPR reported that “public school teachers in Florida [were] banned from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity after Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signed the controversial ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill.” Also called the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, this law angered “LGBTQ activists and, more generally, liberals and libertarians who viewed it in the context of other states’ attempts to discourage the discussion of LGBTQ issues and lifestyles in schools,” according to The Atlantic.

And when Disney employees became critical of company executives for not leveraging their clout in the state by publicly condemning the law, CEO Bob Chapek took a new approach to making his brand viable and reflective of stakeholders’ values. According to Yahoo! Finance, “[H]e publicly denounced the act during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on March 9, in addition to directly apologizing to employees in a company memo.”

But the decision to take up the banner of LGBTQ+ rights more forcefully has led to a legal maelstrom. Vanity Fair writes that, “DeSantis signed a bill dissolving Walt Disney World’s special district status, as retribution for the company’s decision to speak out against his bigoted ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.”

Legendary ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s is another company that is embracing worthy causes for the greater good. For example, in 2018, USA Today reported that “Ben & Jerry’s [was] launching a new flavor, Pecan Resist, which the company made to promote activism in the U.S.” The brand put out the ice cream flavor in conjunction with a charitable effort, also called “Pecan Resist,” which benefits organizations that further important causes. According to Vox, “Pecan Resist — the movement, not the flavor — will be supporting four different organizations that Ben & Jerry’s identifies as ‘working on the front lines of the peaceful resistance.’ ” Vox goes on to say that these organizations include Color of Change; Honor the Earth, Women’s March, and Neta, which champions racial justice; Native environmental issues; “the power of diverse women;” and “amplifying the voices of people of color living along Texas-Mexico border,” respectively. And Fast Company writes that Ben and Jerry’s made a $25,000 donation to each and is encouraging consumers, through the flavor’s packaging and website, to get involved with the organizations.”

While getting vocal about important topics led to a political feud for Disney and a fundraising opportunity for Ben & Jerry’s, brands can generally benefit directly from getting involved with a cause. “Research suggests that consumers are more likely to reward companies and brands that stand up for the issues they believe in,” writes AdAge. “Brands like Nike, UPS and Toyota that are recognized for their high commitment to purpose have grown at more than twice the rate of others, according to a 2020 Kantar report.”