3 Positive Ways That Some Brands Are Responding to Black Lives Matter
It was morning drive time with "On Air with Ryan Seacrest," and the famous host was in the hot seat.
Seacrest's guest was DeVon Franklin, a celebrated producer, author, and motivational speaker. The two men - one white, one Black - discussed the Black Lives Matter movement.
Then, Franklin had a question for the host.
He appreciated that Seacrest had offered his professional platform to highlight the movement. But why had Seacrest remained silent on his personal social accounts?
Seacrest let Franklin chide him. He listened and said nothing in his own defense.
Later, Seacrest responded...on his personal Instagram account.
"Thank you @DeVonFranklin for being on the show today,” Seacrest posted. “These are the tough conversations we need to be having about racism and inequality that has impacted Black communities in our society. I don’t always know all the right questions to ask, but today was a step in the right direction. I’m thankful to be able to use my television and radio platforms to discuss the issues happening in our country today and I recognize the need to use ALL of my platforms to bring attention to these issues. We need to have more of these conversations, both publicly and privately. I’m looking forward to having DeVon on the show again next week to have further discussions and in the meantime I am here to listen, learn, and support these movements via my platforms. What other questions can I ask and conversations can we have?"
Silence is not an option
The Black Lives Matter movement has triggered a cultural earthquake. Celebrities and influencers - the most visible representatives of that culture - are being held accountable for how they respond.
So are consumer brands.
Brands help shape the way we live, and they can play a huge role in leading positive change. The brands that are meeting this moment are doing some serious soul searching.
My marketing agency works with all three of these cultural pillars: brands, celebrities, and influencers. And I'm having many conversations with brand leaders about how to respond to this historic moment.
Some brands are getting called out for their missteps.
But others are being applauded for their responses. What are those brands doing right?
Here are three observations about the positive ways that brands are responding to Black Lives Matter:
1. They're saying something.
Brands are afraid of saying the wrong thing. But saying nothing is worse. That's the message that DeVon Franklin had for Ryan Seacrest.
The public applauded Nike for immediately responding to Black Lives Matter. The company's elegant ad encouraged people to not ignore racial injustice: "For Once, Don’t Do It."
Lush Cosmetics has been consistent and vocal in its support of Black Lives Matter. But from June 3rd to the 5th, the company focused only on amplifying Black voices. During that time, the company relied on posts by Black creatives, activists, and leaders. Lush acknowledged that its well-intentioned #mutedandlistening stance seemed to some fans like silence.
Many influencers have also been eager to speak out. Jackie Aina has been promoting the Pull Up or Shut Up campaign, which calls on brands to disclose how many Black people they have in leadership roles. Daniella Perkins begs her followers to stay committed to this movement, sharing a painful story from her past: her intellectually disabled uncle was unjustly beaten to death by Anaheim police, none of whom have been terminated. Skai Jackson and Storm Reid have also been active on social media regarding the BLM movement, speaking out forcefully against racial injustice and pointing followers to specific ways they can help.
Silence can be deafening. Having the courage to clearly speak out is the first step.
2. They’re backing words with action.
Of course, words aren't enough. And companies that are relying on platitudes are getting major blowback.
Donations are the most obvious way that brands are walking the talk. Nike backed up its fast response with a $40 million pledge to support the Black community. Glossier donated $1 million to fight racial injustice and support Black-owned beauty businesses. Anastasia Beverly Hills also donated $1 million towards the fight against systemic racism and oppression. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made a $120 million donation commitment to Black colleges and universities.
One actress/influencer I work with, Emily Skinner, concluded that she had to go beyond re-posting black squares and MLK quotes. She educated herself on the BLM movement, is now quietly donating some proceeds from her Instagram earnings to organizations that work towards racial justice, and is asking brands to match her donation.
Many brands are going beyond financial support.
Infinity Ward and Activision showed their support of the protests by delaying the releases of Season 4 of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone. They extended that support with donations, in-game messages, and actions to combat the in-game use of racial slurs.
Netflix bought billboard ads to promote its new Black Lives Matter collection of content.
Media giant Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is donating $100 million toward fighting injustice and inequality toward Black people and other racial, ethnic, and gender-based communities. Beyond that, NBCUniversal hopes to diversify its scripted series by providing funds for each of its showrunners to add a diverse writer to their teams.
(Pictured: a recent Instagram post from NBCUniversal.)
The list of brands that are reckoning with their role in this civil rights movement goes on and on. Ad Age has been tracking this growing evidence of real progress amongst brands here.
Absent action, words alone seem performative. It takes visible effort to bring intentions to life.
3. They’re conducting an honest inventory of their company’s practices.
Hypocrisy is a sin for every brand to avoid at all costs.
That means that the brands getting this moment right are taking a hard look within. How are their corporate practices perpetuating racial injustice? How can they correct internal shortcomings?
Lush Cosmetics admitted it had a lot to learn.
“In the days since our first announcement," the brand posted, "we have been listening to our staff, our partners, and leaders in the BLM movement, and we have learned about the distance between where we thought we were and where we actually stand….”
The company proceeded to launch a 90-day action plan to instill more diversity and inclusion at the company and within the BLM movement. The brand listed six objectives and asked followers to hold them accountable to permanent change.
Clinique has also been reexamining its practices. The company laid out specific, detailed commitments for change from within. This includes providing mandatory unconscious bias training to all full-time employees, increasing its pool of Black talent among behind the camera creative teams, requiring input from Black professionals or consumers in the development of concepts, and organizing a brand-wide Day of Solidarity that focuses on learning, action, and service.
Mattel had already been increasing diversity representation in its products, starting with Barbie. The company recently posted a detailed Commitment to the Black Community, with promises to amplify Black representation across its products, programming, content, and people.
(Pictured: A recent Instagram post from Mattel.)
Uncle Ben's is reassessing its imagery, and Aunt Jemima is no more.
Again, the list goes on.
In my own work, I recognize the huge diversity gap in the influencer community. A few Black influencers come to mind: beyond the previously mentioned Jackie Aina, Daniella Perkins, Skai Jackson, and Storm Reid, there’s also Nia Sioux, Gabby Moore, GlowZell, Tesla Dunn, and Bryce Xavier, to name others. But the pool of Black social media influencers (who aren’t celebrities or musicians) is small, leaving me limited options to tap for brand campaigns.
How can this change?
We who work with brands all need to help diversify the influencer community. Agencies that develop scripted influencer content need to do better when hiring talent. We need to create opportunities to give potential Black influencers an entry-point into this unique world.
It's unacceptable when some name-brand influencer programs contain zero Black representation. I was conscious of this when hiring the crew and cast of my recent influencer film, "Next Level." While I hired people for their skills, not ethnicity, I made sure that we filled key roles behind and in front of the camera with outstanding Black talent.
This isn't about marketing
The brands that are stepping up to meet this exciting moment will fare much better than those that aren't.
Ultimately, the guiding light of how to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement is this:
Black Lives Matter is not a communication challenge. It's not a cause marketing opportunity.
It's a wholesale corporate operations issue. And it's less complicated than you'd think.
Talk less. Listen more. Make a donation. Show the receipts. Examine your brand’s corporate behavior. Find ways to do (much, much) better. Communicate your goals so that the public can hold you accountable for the promises you’ve made.
And throughout this process, be transparent, consistent, and creative about how to leverage your platform to support progress.
This continued civil rights movement is a marathon, not a sprint. The proof of your brand’s commitment to change will reveal itself through your focus on consistent actions and long-term results that are only evident over the steady arc of time.
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Kristi Kaylor is the CEO of The Loft Entertainment, L.A.’s leading (yes, we’re biased) marketing and content development agency that helps brands leverage the power of celebrities and influencers.
Also read:
Attention, Hollywood: Gen Z is Leaving the Building. (Here’s What Will Help Them Stay.)