Brand Accountability
Stakeholders are starting to hold companies and brands accountable
Beyond Black Lives Matter and the pandemic response, brands are being held accountable for their actions, as well as being asked to stand up for injustices or to leverage their clout and dollars to force change.
In terms of being held to account, in June two companies were held accountable for the impact their products have had on consumers’ wellbeing. Bayer has settled claims for the impact of Roundup and its alleged link to cancer. It’s hard to say if this is a consumer win or not, truth be told. The company is not accepting defeat or wrongdoing but is simplify settling claims at the tune of $10 billion. At least affected consumers are receiving some compensation.
Similarly, Johnson & Johnson is still being held accountable to having asbestos in its talc products that some claim cause cancer. The benefit to the company of the June court ruling is having the damages cut to $2 billion rather than $4 billion. Yet, the company will still fight the verdict that is being upheld. So, in this point in time, the company is being held accountable.
And then there’s Facebook. The Boycott Facebook movement started with The North Face saying the company would temporarily freeze advertise on Facebook and Instagram for a period of time. This is in response to a campaign by the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, and other organizations called the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign. After The North Face, then REI and Patagonia got onboard. And momentum is building with more companies stopping their spend like Ben & Jerry’s, Eileen Fisher, and Upwork, as well as larger advertisers such as Verizon, Unilever, and Coca-Cola.
The Forecast:
The bar is rightfully being raise for companies and brands to be held accountable for their actions, as well as to hold each other accountable. Consider, to what are your stakeholders holding your company and brand accountable?
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The Agency Oneto is a disciplined yet agile business and brand strategy agency whose mission is to partner with leaders to make a positive impact on their business and brands and for their consumers and teams, unlocking potential.
We do work in Business Strategy, Brand Strategy, Portfolio Strategy, Brand & Product Positioning, Brand Architecture, Marketing Strategy, Content Strategy, Innovation Strategy & Process, Consumer Insights, and Trend Studies.
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