Polls say most Aussies will vote ‘No.’ So why aren’t companies saying it too?
With just over a month until the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, many prominent Australian companies including Qantas and Rio Tinto have publicly declared their support for the Yes case.
But despite the most recent RedBridge poll suggesting 61% of voters will vote no on October 14, there are few examples of businesses openly backing this campaign.
Instead, one marketing expert suggests brands are more likely to remain silent than to pick either side in the debate, perhaps due to the risk of alienating customers, or accusations of ‘woke-washing.’
I have loyally flown Qantas for 40 years and my company has spent millions on Qantas flights over 33 years exporting but my loyalty is waning. Firstly, they attempted to steal 400,000 Frequent Flyer points over Covid. Then they belted us with huge airfares for our service engineers and finally that wacker Alan Joyce smugly supported the Yes vote. This is a very private question and I don’t want that idiot or any other company ramming their political views down my thoat.
It is just so sad.
Gerard
Little upside getting involved, considerable downside: Not worth it.
Essayer nails it. It’s usually the ones who want to hijack important issues for some kind of brand outcome who rush out to make sure everyone knows how virtuous they are.
I don’t need to be told how to think by my supermarket.