Craft Your Brand Strategy to Ensure Racial Justice

In fall 2016, Colin Kaepernick “took a knee.” Quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick protested racial injustice by kneeling during the pregame national anthem. He instantly became a lightning rod for controversy; then-President Barack Obama voiced support, then-candidate and future President Donald Trump criticized, and the country was engulfed in a highly politicized and polarizing conversation.

It was a conversation that most brands (with the notable exceptions of Nike and Ben & Jerry’s) were uncomfortable having. They had been schooled in the practice of avoiding issues with even a whiff of politics, relying on guidance from the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), whose chief marketing officer, Alison Fahey, asserted in 2017 that “consumers are not looking to brands to take a position on political or social issues. In fact, there’s typically more risk than benefit.” That was about to change.

In the summer of 2020, at a Chase Bank branch in New York, Jamie Dimon, CEO of global banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase, also took a knee in support of racial equity. Companies, even those of the size and stature of a big bank, were doing an about-face in standing up (or kneeling) for racial equity. The moment, however, was not without irony: The financial services sector has a history of systemic racism dating back to its role in financing slave ships and continuing with the 1930s practice of promoting segregation by geographic “redlining.” While some dismissed Dimon’s kneeling as a performative stunt, JPMorgan Chase backed up the gesture with a substantial $30 billion commitment to advance the cause of racial equity.

Brands in the Spotlight

The killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by police officers set off a groundswell that leaped across oceans to inspire protests for racial justice worldwide under the masthead of Black Lives Matter (BLM). A movement of this magnitude quickly crossed over into the marketplace: A survey conducted in early June of 2020 — two months after Taylor’s death and less than two weeks after Floyd’s — showed that 60% of the U.S. population expected brands to take a stand on racial justice, a majority that grew to 78% among respondents ages 18 to 34. As demographic change ripples through the U.S. and global population, anything other than an activist position on race will likely be untenable for most brands.

Long accustomed to chasing consumer dollars, brand managers are awakening to the idea that they must also market to a previously overlooked audience: their own employees. While consumers vote with their wallets, employees do so with their feet: According to a 2020 McKinsey report, 50% of LGBTQ+, 45% of racial and ethnic minorities, and 39% overall have “chosen not to pursue a job because of a perceived lack of inclusion.” If a brand is tainted, it suffers not just in market share but also in its ability to attract and retain talent — as vital to brand building and market share as any marketing activity.

Brands Rush to Respond

Spurred on by consumers and employees, most brands reacted to the BLM movement. For some, like Ben & Jerry’s, which had publicly supported BLM since 2016, battling racism was as much a part of the brand’s DNA as were chocolate chips, and the response was quick, heartfelt, and authentic. For others, like Quaker Foods and Mars, which had dragged their heels on addressing the racist implications of their brand icons, this was the tipping point to retire Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben. For many brands, this was their first encounter with BLM, and the confusion was palpable as they struggled to go on record uttering these exact words: Black Lives Matter.

There is no doubt, however, that brands are speaking out like never before. Spending on ads with racial justice messaging in one summer month in 2020 was five times the amount spent in all of 2018 and 2019. Companies and their leaders are writing large checks with alacrity to further racial justice: PayPal committed $500 million to create an economic opportunity fund for Black and underrepresented businesses, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings individually donated $120 million to be split among the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College, and Morehouse College.

But while shows of support — in words and in dollars — go a long way, they are still relatively passive approaches. It takes a much deeper commitment and involvement to develop a new brand strategy that embraces racial justice.

Four Steps to Craft a Brand Strategy

The writing on the wall is indelible: Justice matters. Consumers and employees alike will build and break relationships in response to a brand’s position on fairness and equality. For companies to deliver on this expectation, it is crucial not to confuse commitment with communication. Just as marketing communication is a hollow promise without the brand experience to back it up, a company’s commitment must be both expressed and acted upon. We recommend these four steps to build and deliver a strategy that embraces racial justice:

Start with honesty. The taint of racism is pervasive across most industries, and few brands can authentically lay claim to having championed racial equity the way Ben & Jerry’s has in explicitly calling out and fighting white supremacy. Trying to skirt the problem is a blow to authenticity and credibility. Instead, follow the lead of The Coca-Cola Co.’s chair and CEO James Quincey. Back in 2000, the company paid out what was, at the time, the largest settlement in a racial discrimination lawsuit. In June 2020, Quincey owned up to the company’s missteps: “The company is not perfect. It’s done great things, things to be proud of … And it’s made mistakes. As the judge said, our biggest issue was not that we made mistakes and that there were individual cases, but that when we knew, we didn’t act to remedy and improve.” With that acknowledgment to clean the slate, Quincey was ready to lay out a program for the future, including launching a 10-year talent recruiting program focused on people of color, with an emphasis on Black executives.

Build from values. Brands have traditionally mirrored consumer sentiment to reflect prevailing attitudes. But this balancing act becomes increasingly precarious as society polarizes. In a tug-of-war over issues, commitment requires that a brand stand wholeheartedly behind a set of beliefs. Finding that value platform is easier for purpose-led brands like Patagonia; mainstream brands have to work with great deliberation to establish the values they will hold sacrosanct. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, caters to consumers with widely varied views and employs over 2 million people. Despite this diversity, and despite a general perception that Walmart caters to many with antipathy toward racial activism, the company does not mince words in its commitment “to the belief that, without question, Black Lives Matter” — a remarkable statement, considering how many companies struggle with using those words.

Take a comprehensive approach. Addressing racism requires a holistic review of marketing strategy, not just communications. Commitment must be demonstrated through action rather than merely expressed in YouTube videos and tweets. This can include addressing pricing strategies, such as discriminatory lending practices that target minorities, or retail channel strategies such as limiting access or abandoning low-income neighborhoods to become food deserts. Every aspect of the brand experience and operational execution, including customer and employee experience, must be pressure tested. When it is not, cringe-worthy and controversial situations arise — such as Starbucks’ reversal from banning staff’s BLM pins and T-shirts to designing its own BLM shirt, and Taco Bell’s apology to a team member after firing him for wearing a BLM mask.

Be the change. The most effective, enduring, and purposeful action is closest to home. When a company uses what it does best to promote racial justice, it is likely to be most successful. Since 2014, Microsoft has been leveraging its technology expertise to work with numerous organizations to address criminal justice reform. For example, the company has refused to sell facial recognition software to police until the establishment of federal laws to govern the technology, and it has partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to create a virtual reality experience that simulates reentry scenarios. Airbnb, unique among its hospitality peers as a data-driven e-commerce brand, has launched an initiative known as Project Lighthouse to analyze its transaction data to “uncover, measure, and overcome discrimination.”

The days of social apathy are over for brands. Like it or not, they face a new movement of consumers and employees who threaten to jump ship if their worldview doesn’t align with a brand’s. And in this worldview, racial justice is a nonnegotiable, fundamental human right. The future of brand building must include crafting a strategy to address racial justice. The success of this strategy, and of the brand itself, will be driven by a brand’s ability to not only speak out for change but also to engineer it.