With the onset of a mishandled pandemic, economic instability, an upcoming presidential election, and widespread protests related to the Black Lives Matter movement, there is a lot going on in the United States in 2020. While some businesses are deciding to stay out of the matter, avoiding politics at all costs, others—enterprise businesses, affiliate programs, and mom-and-pop shops—are diving in headfirst, displaying their political stance like a proudly waving banner.
Mixing politics and business isn’t a new idea, but it is one that is growing in popularity, especially with younger generations. Consumers want to support businesses that care—companies that stand up for the values they espouse. So, who’s doing that? And for those becoming vocal, are they doing it successfully?
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Businesses that Aren’t Afraid to Get Political
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Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s has never shied away from proudly making their voices heard. The entrepreneurial Vermonters supported their senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 election cycles and have regularly promoted awareness of political concerns they truly care about. And it’s worked in their favor. The pair, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have both been open about their wanting to make their company more than just about ice cream. Which, at its core, is the foundation of branding: They are a company that cares as much about their values as they do their product.
- Patagonia
Like Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia has been a lifelong vocal supporter of what they care about most. Related to their products and their uses, Patagonia’s campaigns revolve around environmental concerns, from supporting climate change awareness to advocating for green environmental policies.
A few examples from the past few years include restricting sales of their customized, sleeveless fleece vests to stop them from becoming the business casual “Midtown Uniform” to emblazoning their website’s front page with the white-text, black-backdrop message “The President Stole Your Land,” in response to President Trump’s decision to reduce the land size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah.
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Nike
Taking social stances works, but it can also have its drawbacks. Nike knows this very well, following their regular support of former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick, who was eventually blacklisted from the NFL, garnered a great deal of resentment from some football fans and American citizens following his protests in support of Black Lives Matter, which involved him kneeling during the national anthem prior to kickoff.
But, while the hate may have been widespread, with even the President calling him an epithet, Kaepernick received a great deal of public support from many others for putting his character and career on the line.
Nike came out in support of its athlete, eventually making him the face of the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” campaign. While it brought the company some ire, with reactionary fans burning their Nike shoes and shirts on camera in protest, it also showed the company’s public support for its premier Black American athlete, showcasing its support for diversity, equity, and justice.
When Politics and Business Don’t Work
Sometimes getting political doesn’t work out, but it’s usually for good reason. Why? It often comes down to a company doing so haphazardly—the situation where it makes a half-hearted attempt to say something political, and then it will turn around and apologize once it begins getting backlash, rather than sticking to its guns.
Pepsi is one of the foremost examples of this sort of failure, with its 2017 ad featuring Kendall Jenner handing a can of Pepsi to a police officer—during a Black Lives Matter protest—and seemingly solving racism by doing so. The advertisement’s message was unclear, but the way in which it was presented was also incredibly tone-deaf. And what happened once backlash came knocking? Pepsi apologized, and the company hasn’t released a similar advertisement since.
Why did it not go over well? Besides being tone-deaf, it was clear that Pepsi didn’t mean whatever it was the company was trying to say. It was a faux political statement to appease viewers and, hopefully, get some more people to buy Pepsi. There was nothing unapologetic about it; it was clearly done for marketing purposes and nothing more.
So, what does this teach us? It shows that if you’re going to make a political stance, it …
- Needs to align with your company’s stated core values and
- Must be honest
To use a common phrase, the actions of Pepsi, and other companies that have pulled similarly non-serious campaigns, could be defined as “grift.” In such instances, the statement a company makes is not wholesome, and it’s not done for truly political purposes; rather, it is made solely to promote marketing and advertising ROI, garnering customers from a movement without truly doing anything for said movement.
How Small Businesses and Affiliates Can Get Involved
If you’re a small business owner or an affiliate marketer, you might be asking how you can get involved. From the above examples, there are a few lessons to be learned:
- If you’re going to come out with a political stance, stick to it.
- Consider your language prior to promoting your campaign—you should align yourself with the movement you’re trying to support rather than push it away with insensitive language.
- Find ways to support the movement, whether you consider making donations directly to them or offering your own services to help in any way possible.
- Last, do not do it because it seems trendy. Speak only if you have something to say, not because it seems like the right thing to do from a marketing perspective.
You might not have as big a voice as Nike, Ben & Jerry’s, or Patagonia, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a difference. If you feel like making a change, work for it. Support the causes you care about and lift up the world around you, not because it will benefit your business but because you know it’s the right thing to do.