Great Brands Take Stands

Brands are finding themselves in the hot seat more often these days. Any time a social or political issue shows up in the 24-hour news cycle, a growing number of consumers want brands to weigh in.

Take ice cream artisan Jeni Britton Bauer, who called out FedEx for its refusal to cut ties with the National Rifle Association after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. This type of action opens up the floodgates for other brands to take a stand.

Here’s the thing, though — we work hard to develop our brands. We want them to sing. We want them to connect with people. We want people to love them. But people don’t, because consumers don’t care about brands. They don’t trust companies. People care about people. They trust people, and they want to hear from them.

We try hard to make our brands seem like people. We give them personalities and voices, but when we realize that people also have opinions about social issues, we think, “Why would we ever give our brand an opinion about any of that?”

We think that we cannot afford to alienate people by taking a side on social issues. If we support one cause, we’ll lose customers who oppose it. We don’t want to lose customers. We are afraid.

But the question we should really be asking is whether we can afford to alienate even more customers by not possessing the basic humanity it takes to form an opinion. Brands, it’s time to own what you believe in — not halfway, but all the way.

It’s Not Enough to State Your Values — You Have to Live Them

When your audiences click on the “about us” tab of your website, they’ll see what you say you believe in. It’s not until you demonstrate your values in action that they’ll believe you. People appreciate that you believe in inclusion, sustainability or social justice, but they’ll love you when you take a risk and fight for it.

People Want to Support Brands That Align With Their Values

The brands that people choose to surround themselves with can be seen as an extension of who they are, whether you’re an Adidas woman or a Whole Foods guy. Consumers support brands that fit with their personality and their worldview. By demonstrating that you care about the issues your audience cares about, you’re making a real connection to something bigger.

Don’t Guess What Your Audience Wants You to Care About, Just Care

As a company, what matters to you? What’s something that’s a true reflection of your culture? Go all in on that. You don’t have to take a side on every issue, just on the ones that intersect with what’s valuable to you as a company. Do we care what a cosmetics brand has to say about illiteracy? Not so much. But let’s hear what a chocolate company has to say about deforestation, or what an athletic apparel brand has to say about body image.

If You Play Both Sides of an Issue, You Just Played Yourself

When you choose to weigh in on a social issue, you run the risk of losing customers who disagree with you, which is good: They didn’t get you anyway. They don’t deserve your brand. You’ll gain even more customers, ones who say things like, “I’d never heard of [brand X] before, but if they’re down with [social issue that matters to me], then I’m down with them. I’ll take multiple units of your goods and services, please.”

You’ve worked hard to develop your brand’s voice, don’t be afraid to use it. Because when you speak to the causes and the values that your audience cares about, they’ll listen. They want to stand behind you. You just need to stand for something.

About the Author | Nathan Thornton

Nathan Thornton is executive creative director at Ologie, a branding and marketing agency.