We Expect the Brands We Support to Support the Issues We Care About

It can be a slippery slope for businesses to take a stand on issues impacting our community, but consumers are expecting (demanding?) that the brands that we support support the issues we care about.  I started talking about it back in 2018, we did a podcast on the topic a few months ago and it seems appropriate to discuss it again.

A new study by Peppercomm and Ragan Communications found only 18% of brands are very likely to speak out on any social issues.  More than half of those surveyed said they were unlikely to share a point of view on social topics.  Nearly 400 senior communications professionals responded to the survey of which only a small minority of organizations said they’d be willing to take any position even though their consumers expect them to do so.

Do you care if your favorite coffee brand cares about the environment? Does it matter to you if the athletic shoes you wear have a volatile and controversial spokesperson?

As consumers, we’ve always had the option to take our money elsewhere if we felt we received bad service or were treated rudely at an establishment.  Social media gave us a platform to exclaim “I will never shop here again” to a much larger audience.

Today’s social environment has given new meaning to the expression put your money where your mouth is.  Influencers of all types can create a groundswell of support online, putting pressure on a business to make changes.

As communicators, we always need to pay attention to what’s happening with and around the brands we represent.  I think now more than ever.