The Detriment of Shallow Social Justice Brands… and How Without Depth, They’re About to Be In Hot Water

Written by Katharyn MacDonald

Account Supervisor

As younger generations gain purchasing power, there’s been a shift in what today’s customers are asking for. For college-aged consumers, there is a transition period between choosing brands they grew up with for familiarity and discovering brands with the quality and values they connect with most. The latter is becoming increasingly important for all brands to be aware of, because the #1 trait consumers value in brands today is authenticity, and no one is an exception. Brands need to be authentic for all of their stakeholders, including internal ones. For example, 61% of Gen-Z employees say they would never apply to a company that does not support DEI.

So what does it mean to be truly authentic in a landscape where brands span a spectrum of social involvement, from diving into social justice initiatives to saying “No comment” on everything, including workplace policies like DEI initiatives? It means that when brands venture into the world of social justice, they need to back up their claims with substance. There is a trend of consumers holding companies accountable for diversity and ethical, socially responsible business practices, now more than ever.

Photos courtesy of News, From the Margin and Roland Martin

Boycotts are growing in effectiveness due to increased reach through social media, with everyone from advocacy groups to ordinary citizens organizing boycotts that gather participation across the country. When Target ended its DEI programs and removed its diversity goals, social media helped spark a wildfire of consumer protests, including a 200-day boycott that resulted in a $15.7B loss in Target’s market value and a 33% decrease in its stock price. The people spoke, and the brand began to listen. Target gave 2,000+ employees who were students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities tuition assistance and invested $2B in Black-owned businesses, more than doubling the number of Black-owned brands on shelves. Still, consumers have called their actions too little, too late, and many continue to boycott the brand. Any kind of step backward on social justice values has lasting effects that brands may never recover from.

Even brands that consider themselves uninvolved in social justice must be wary. Amid pressure from the political climate, many brands have rolled back their DEI efforts. This ranges from the MLB quietly removing all references to diversity from its careers site to Constellation Brands, which owns 27 international beverage brands, pulling out of its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign, and ending its commitment to diverse suppliers. Yet 88% of legal leaders say maintaining or expanding DEI is essential to mitigating legal risk. The more brands roll back or eliminate their DEI initiatives, the more lawsuits hold them accountable and draw public attention. This has influenced brands to keep up with today’s consumers to avoid financial losses and a tarnished brand image by maintaining their DEI initiatives.

Today, one of the most effective ways to protect the bottom line is to protect customers from deceit. 92% of marketers believe most or all of the content their brand creates resonates as authentic with consumers. Yet 51% of consumers believe that less than half of brands create content that resonates as authentic.

There are many ways to help bridge this gap, including upholding a social commitment to accountability. Leading the movement of brands towards higher standards for their consumers are B Corps, who proclaim to use business as a force for good. Businesses that are B Corp-certified meet high standards of social and environmental performance, and the process of becoming one is not easy. The B stands for benefit, and who is truly benefiting from the business’s model in all aspects is evaluated. B Corp or not, today’s business practices should provide benefit to everyone a brand touches and respect their needs, from farmers and factory workers to customers.

Becoming a brand that reaches its stakeholders at every touchpoint with transparency and authenticity is key to success in today’s marketplace. When research indicates that brands generally are less authentic than they think they are, successful branding and marketing professionals should think back to their business model and its benefits, leading with transparency. Brands should absolutely avoid backing down on social justice claims, and they should only make promises or partnerships they plan to fulfill, even years down the line or amid political climate shifts. These strategies strengthen that #1 most important aspect that ties a strong brand identity together: authenticity.