Brand Activism in the Digital Age
In 1973 a man named Yvon Chouinard started a clothing company.
The company had 3 goals:
to build the best product
cause no unnecessary harm
use business to inspire, and implement solutions to the environmental crisis
The company's name? Patagonia
Patagonia is more than a clothing company. They are a company committed to making the world a better place. Alex Weller from Patagonia wrote,
"You can’t reverse into a mission and values through marketing. The organizations that are struggling with this are probably the ones that are thinking about marketing first. The role of marketing is to authentically elevate that mission and purpose and engage people in it, but the purpose needs to be the business."
It's been 40 years since Patagonia wrote the playbook on brand activism. Its time for some of today's companies to take a play from it.
Almost every brand from Nike to Google to Coca-Cola issued a statement on racial inequality in the wake of civil unrest across the country, but few got it right. Most followed the same template:
white text on a black background
condemning racism
expressing vague solidarity with the black community
stating how they are committing to change, but not saying how
In the past, this might have worked. Some might have even looked like champions of equality by wading into social justice issues. Today, consumers don’t just care about words, they demand action.
A 2017 Weber Shandwick poll found 47% of millennials believe CEOs have a responsibility to speak up about issues that are important to society. That same poll found that 56% of millennials believe that business leaders have a greater responsibility to speak out now than in years past.
It’s why Patagonia for over 40 years has continued to win over consumers and grow its top-line revenue to over $1 billion. They put their money where their mouth is. For example in 2016, Taylor Cox, a junior marketer had the idea for an anti-Black Friday. The idea was to donate 100% of their profits on Black Friday to a charity committed to their non-profit corporation, 1% for the Planet. This event raised $10MM.
Some brands have done more than just issue statements:
ViacomCBS paused programming for 8 minutes and 46 seconds across all its channels to protest George Floyd’s death and offer real policy solutions
Glossier is donating $1MM to the African-American community
Lucky Brand and Savage x Fenty by Rihanna announced they won’t conduct any business on Tuesday, June 2nd (#Blackout Tuesday)
Patagonia was an anomaly in the corporate world, focusing on brand activism before people even knew it was a word.
Today, every company needs to have a plan when it comes to brand activism. Brand activism isn’t just words, but actions. It starts with figuring out how you are going to make a difference, not just today, but in 1 year, 5 years, and 100 years. Consumers want brands and products that stand for something. Don’t just issue a press release, commit to making the world a better place.