Navigating the Cancel Culture: Brand Managers’ Dilemma

Background: What is #CancelCulture?

One of the first instances of ‘Cancel Culture’ entering the Indian public psyche was the global outrage fueled by the #MeToo Movement of 2017. At that time, a string of Hollywood celebrities was publicly called out on social media platforms for allegedly perpetrating acts of sexual harassment. The movement made it mark across the world, including India. While it had several ramifications on the discourse around gender and society, #MeToo movement also gave the #digital world the concept of “cancelling” people on social media. By extension, today we see calls for cancelling and boycotting not just individuals and communities, but also brands and businesses.

In its essence, the cancel culture refers to the act of withdrawing support, approval and even #business from a public figure, organization or #brand for acts, decisions or values that are deemed ‘unethical or anti-social’. Needless to say, the definition of morality, ethics and socially favorable values is dependent on the individual or group addressing the topic. On social media, groups that have access to digital literacy, promotional money, clout and technology are the ones that band together to decide what is to be ‘cancelled’. Proponents of cancel culture appreciate its ability to give power and scale to voices that are likely to be muffled. On the other hand, critics of the culture often see its social outrage as a form of online mob rule, and rue it as being against democratic values of free speech and respecting the contrarian opinion.[1]??

Where do brands come in? Do they need to care?

In the current time of intensified brand personification, companies are equal stakeholders in the conversations on social media. We see several instances of brands like Netflix, Amazon PrimeVideo, Swiggy, Bumble and others using colloquial lingo and references while conversing with potential customers in the social media space. Even the kind of visual language, topics and ways of representation adopted are highly influenced by the #zeitgeist of not just the Indian society – but also of the ‘Indian social media society. One of the best examples of this is how quickly brands have adopted values of gender/ sexual inclusivity in their messaging ever since the recognition of the Third Gender and decriminalization of homosexuality by the Indian courts, and the growing vocal support for LGBTQIA+ community’s rights. This is exemplified by mainstream brands’ advertising campaigns like #MakeItPossible by Ariel (P&G); Vicks - Generations of Care #TouchOfCare; and Closeup #FreeToLove; besides others. ?

There are several strategic and visionary reasons why brands comment on social discourses, while building campaigns to position their products/ services.

1. It helps a brand stay relevant with the times. Brands cannot afford to stay away from the social values consumers are adopting and over time risk becoming entities that are hard to relate to.
2. ‘Issue-based’ brand building is truly a remarkable and effective marketing weapon that allows brands to build their reputation and consumer trust. As per the Edelman Trust Barometer of 2019, as many as 38% consumers trust a brand basis its impact on the society; 69% consumers want the brands they use to express their values; and a whopping 53% believe every brand should be associated with at least one societal issue unrelated to its business. ?
3. Talented professionals are increasingly particular of their current / potential employer’s values and societal contribution. 73% of respondents in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 survey said they want to be empowered by their employer to ‘shape the future of the society’. No wonder then, good talent is likely to gravitate towards companies that have and exhibit a strong point of view on society and life.

Should brands take part in the social discourse?

It is clear from the above that brands cannot escape conversations relevant and active the social space. If they do, sooner or later such brands will lose their relevance and be out of touch with the values of their customers.

However, a question arises about when a company needs to comment on an issue, and when can it stay silent? In the Indian context, given the current socio-political climate, off late social stances that have traditionally been tagged as ‘progressive’ have landed companies in soup. The most notable example being an advertisement by #Tanishq for its Ekatvam line of jewellery. The advertisement promoted the idea of communal harmony and acceptance of an inter-faith marriage. However, once uploaded on social media, the campaign was trolled by conservative right winged-minded individuals using the hashtag ‘Boycott Tanishq’. So much so, that the brand manager who oversaw roll out of the campaign was cyber-bullied basis his religion. The impact of the advertisement even went offline as Tanishq stores and store staff were attacked by hooligans, and the shareholder value of its mother brand ‘Titan’ eroded by ? 2700 crore. The dilemma by the brand was intensified by the fact that Tanishq was also criticized later for removing the advertisement and in a way ‘rolling back’ its ‘open support and celebration’ of inter-faith marriages. Clearly, post the campaign roll-out, Tanishq was to be at the receiving end of backlash in either of the two scenarios.

There are contrary opinions about whether Tanishq should have read the room ‘better’ and stayed away from the topic in the first place. I believe this dilemma has no straight answers, and a lot depends on the brand’s values, stakeholders, priorities and most importantly the ground reality of its operations. Brand Managers and Strategists have a key role here in determining which are the core brand values basis the organizational vision, who are the key stakeholders with whom these values need to be shared and how are they likely to react to the said values. At the same time, the company leadership needs to decide to which extent is it ready to take a stand and support its employees, the brand strategy and creative freedom.

How to navigate the Cancel Culture?

There is no simple rulebook to decide how to deal with cancel culture and calls for boycott. There is no quick and easy fix either. But there are some simple strategic questions a brand team can ask itself before associating with a social stance.

Look within: Does your organization practice the values it seeks to exemplify?

It is critical that a brand itself practices the values it seeks to exemplify. To paraphrase and quote Zulfikar Fahd from Blue Sky Communications:

“Once a company has defined its social purpose, it has an ever-going homework to consistently articulate and translate it into effective marketing. This means delivering it across all their touch points and ensuring that it is essential to their culture. If they stand for inclusivity, they should look inside and check whether their recruitment is diverse, whether they have anti-discrimination policies in place, and whether they unconsciously alienate certain parts of their communities in the way they price or market their products.”

Not doing so can land a company with the kind of backlash Unilever faced for supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement in USA, while still marketing and selling products like ‘Fair & Lovely’ (later rebranded to ‘Glow and Lovely’) in the Asian markets. If a social cause does not align with a brand’s own actions, it needs to stay away from the topic till the organization walks the talk, and adopts the reforms being promulgated.

Check the audience: Who are you talking to?

It is critical for a brand to understand who its key audience is, and which are the values that resonate with that group. Before passing a blanket sermon for a brand to stay away from issue-based marketing, it is critical to understand how much of its audience is in-favour-of or against a certain stance. This kind of understanding of the target group only comes with intense and long-term research by brand and agency teams – through formal and informal measures. In case of Tanishq as well, there is merit in assuming that in the long-term the above-stated controversy did not affect the brand greatly. In March 2021, Tanishq registered a 16% YoY growth and helped Titan Company bounce back from the Covid19-induced slowdown. Clearly, the brands sales are on track and so is the consumer consideration. This can be taken as an indicator of the fact that Tanishq’s core audience was not deterred by the stance the Ekatvam advertising campaign had taken. Nevertheless, this conjecture can only be confirmed for any brand through proper research channels.

Pick a stance and stick to it: Build and leverage appropriate regulatory channels

Brands exist within a gambit of regulatory policies and laws of the land. Companies need to ensure they understand nuances of the same very well and abide by them. Once this compliance to laws – in letter and spirit – is ensured, public policy teams of organizations need to work towards ensuring that they build channels with local, state, and national government to advocate the stance they are taking. This does not mean brands need to enter the domain of lobbying, but governmental endorsement of progressive ideas is an effective tool in building public perception in India. This can thereby enable brands to stand their ground on social issues and perspectives that they support.

References:

[1] https://www.blueskycommunications.com/how-brands-should-behave-during-the-cancel-culture-era/

Article Image Credit: https://edmontonjournal.com/