How companies can authentically participate in heritage celebrations, from Pride Month to Juneteenth
Whether it’s pink-washing, green-washing or hopping on the bandwagon, no brand wants to be accused of being inauthentic. Millennial and Gen Z consumers are more tuned in than ever to the authenticity of brands. Brands are constantly weighing the pros and cons of whether or not to post, tweet, or engage in popular heritage calendar events, especially if it feels like they’re missing out on potential cache, or if they’re concerned that their silence will indicate a lack of support. So how can brands thread the needle without getting cancelled? The answer lies in assuming your consumers are a lot smarter than they’ve historically been given credit for.
If it’s MLK Day, or Black History month but you don’t have a DE&I commitment, and zero black employees on your exec team, probably don’t tweet an Audre Lorde quote expecting to not be called out.
If it’s International Women’s Day, but you have no women on your board, and you don’t provide maternity leave, probably don’t post a series of images celebrating women employees on LinkedIn.
If it’s Pride Month, don’t un-invite a drag activist group to a Pride Event you’re hosting, during Pride Month, in a notoriously liberal city (lessons learned).
First, consider if your company is both externally and internally representing the values that the heritage event represents. If you’re concerned your company is falling short in someway, try and understand why that is. If it’s important enough to you, put a plan in place for how to rectify that, alert your internal team of the plan you have in place, what your goals are, and the general timeline for certain milestones you want to hit. If you’re adamant about sharing something publicly, then share the actions that you are taking as an organization, the commitments you’re making, and ask your community to keep you honest. Then, next year when that time of year rolls around, provide an update on how you’re tracking against the milestones. Share both the wins and the challenges of making real change. If you don’t have the time, budget, or desire to do. the. work. then do. not. post. Make a donation, and move along.
Furthermore, consider who your customer is and what their values are. When Nike dropped the Colin Kapernek ad that stood by his decision to take a knee, they were attacked on every one of their channels, but Nike knew their customer. Upon analyzing the people who complained publicly, it became clear that they were not their customers. Those shoes being burned on Facebook? They probably had to buy their first pair of Nikes to burn them. Conversely, Bud Light’s decision to partner with Dylan Mulvaney was a lesson in not being in tune with their customer and their values. Whether Bud Light didn’t understand, or simply didn’t like the values of their core audience, that’s who buys their beer. They lost on both sides when they upset LGBTQ+ supporters for not standing by Mulvaney. Bud Light is now down 3% in market share in the following months since the scandal. Some of this can probably be chalked up to consumers being less anti-trans, and more anti-political drama when it comes to their beer (at least we can hope).
What happens if you’ve already f-ed up and didn’t listen to any of this advice? Eat some humble pie, don’t double down, and take a hard look at your customer and what they care about. If you messed up, own it, explain how you’re rectifying it, and make sure you understand who your core demographic is. If you don’t, then you have way bigger problems anyway.
