4 Ways Parkland Students Gave Brands a Wakeup Call
We are only in May and it’s already been a whirlwind year for brands. Parkland students gave us a taste of what we can expect from Generation Z, and the big question is: are brands ready for it?
The lessons we have learnt on the merits of brand authenticity and purposeful engagement are invaluable and will act as a guide going forward.
For those unfamiliar, Generation Z are those born between the 1990s to the early 2000s. They are the first generation born into technology and social media, and by that virtue they have high awareness of the social and political environment, deeming them born-activists.
The Parkland survivors are the epitome of what this generation is capable of. They have emerged from a tragedy, destined to fix a broken system and have made the kind of headway that no one in their wildest dreams would have imagined a bunch of high school kids doing.
In a matter of weeks they raised millions in funding, garnered support from A-list celebrities — the likes of Oprah Winfrey and George Clooney, and organized a march that was attended by more than 200k people. This is a generation like no other, and it is telling us exactly what it wants.
With previous generations, we marketers had to run numerous focus groups, bring in expert analysts, and we still couldn’t put our finger on it. With Generation Z, the answers are right in front of us.
But this time, the stakes are higher.
Here are 3 ways the Parkland students gave us a glimpse of what brands should expect from their generation.
- Parkland students forced brands to disassociate themselves from NRA at the risk of facing a boycott.
The days of brands remaining apolitical are behind us. They can no longer afford to maintain a neutral stance on social issues. Generation Z demands that you pick a side or a side will be picked for you. In this case, numerous brands reacted, picked a side and quickly distanced themselves from the NRA. For some, their decision had consequences; Delta Airlines could risk losing $50m in tax breaks from the state of Georgia for ending NRA’s contract for discounted rates. However, the long term benefits of siding with the parkland kids may be far greater.
2. David Hogg, one of the Parkland survivors, called for an advertising boycott of Laura Ingham’s show after she mocked him for not getting into his top choices for college.
Hogg’s tweet calling for the boycott was retweeted 55k times. Within 48 hours, over a dozen brands confirmed pulling their ads from the show, leading to Ingham issuing a public apology on Twitter. They have the social power to gather and mobilize behind their purpose, they are out to change the world and they have the tools to do it.
3. Bank of America was called out after they promised to cut ties with manufacturers of assault rifles and then went ahead and financed Remington Outdoor, a manufacturer of assault type rifles.
Whilst it’s important for brands to be timely in taking action, being authentic is absolutely fundamental. Your actions should be a reflection of your values as a brand, so if you are pledging support for a cause, despite being motivated by a risk of a boycott, your support needs to be authentic, well communicated internally, and reflected in your practices going forward. Bank of America now faces a boycott call after Reuters revealed its continued involvement with Remington Outdoor.
4. Publix, a leading US grocery chain, faced a backlash after financially backing an NRA supporter for governor of Florida.
Despite being ranked among the top ten most reputable companies in the US, number 2 in social responsibility by Harris Polls, and being employee-owned, Publix faced retribution for its actions and the parkland students called for a “die-in” inside its stores to protest the financial contribution.
The day of the protest, Publix issued a statement announcing its suspension of political contribution. Despite the level of corporate citizenry your organization displays, all your actions need to strongly align with your values. Publix was founded on a strong foundation of social responsibility but somewhere along the line, it lost its way.
Generation Z is a generation of activists. The March for Our Lives movement is just a glimpse of what brands can expect from this cohort. Generation Z expects all member of society to play a role in creating social change, this time it is holding brands and corporations to a higher standard.
Marketing to this generation will require us to take a step back and reassess the brand values as these will dictate how we can authentically engage with this generation.
