Goal, Bud Light i Disney all have faced backlash for their support of the LGBTQ community. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks pay travel expenses for employees seeking abortions in states where it is now illegal. Nike faced boycott threats for its support of Colin Kaepernick. Levi Strauss supported gun control efforts.
All of these examples highlight a major shift in the tone of corporate America as more big brands sell not just their products, but their values.
It wasn’t always like that. Indeed, during the civil rights movement, when The New York Times magazine asked whether corporations “have a social duty” to speak up, the head of US Steel declared that this goes “far beyond what should make a corporation.”
Times have changed.
“Companies are focusing on long-term, purpose-driven commitments and actions that relate to their core business and core values,” said Amy Terpeluk, who helps craft these strategies as managing partner of the ‘marketing company Finn Partners.
He said this is partly a push from investors, partly the influence of employees and largely due to the expectations of the customers themselves.
“We’re facing these incredible social and environmental problems that we need to solve, and we need to solve them quickly,” he said. “And they see that companies have the resources, the speed and the social innovations to be able to do that.”
Sprout Social, a software company that works to help businesses grow, conducted a survey that shows 70% of Americans believe brands should now take a stand on social issues. Another report this year from the communications firm Edelman found that nearly two-thirds say they will buy products based on beliefs and values.
But not all customers believe the same things.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is locked in one political battle with Disney after the company publicly opposed a bill he later signed. Bud Light, meanwhile, faced with a backlash and saw his sales plummet for sending a promotional can to a prominent transgender social media star. And customers at some Target stores have confronted workers and torn down displays of LGBTQ-friendly merchandise.
“This is absolutely dangerous for companies that get into these issues. And they really do it at their own peril,” said Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, a nonprofit organization that has been issuing ” alert” about companies taking progressive positions.
“Our message is simply this: serve your consumers, not politicians and woke activists,” he said.
He sees these campaigns as a shift to the left and doesn’t accept the idea that customers actually want this kind of marketing.
“I think they should just focus on selling high quality goods and services at a reasonable price,” he said.
He believes that American businesses, in general, risk alienating half of their potential customers.
One result is a recent boom in right-wing businesses. Black Rifle Coffee Company, for example, is a conservative alternative to Starbucks, and The Daily Wire, a right-leaning media company, dreams even more of a line of “anti-wake” shaving equipment, bars of chocolate and finally they say , children’s programming.
But it hasn’t deterred companies like The Body Shop, which works with Finn Partners and has a full-time campaign team at its headquarters.
“The Body Shop was truly founded around the belief that businesses can and should be a force for good,” said Nykeba King, the retailer’s global head of inclusion and belonging.
And there are reminders of that belief in every store, even if not every customer appreciates it.
“We respect the fact that there are people who may not align with our positions, but we stand firm in what we believe,” King said.
