When’s the right time for corporate social activism?
Brands must remember that any decision to lead or participate in a public issue must be truly aligned with core values, and not a decision for the moment, writes Tony Jaques.
Customers and employees say they want companies to take a stand on high-profile social and political issues. But that can come with a costly downside too.
The latest example is home-sharing giant Airbnb which decided to take a position on one of the most contentious political issues on the planet. They removed 200 listings in disputed Israeli settlements on the West Bank and now face a potentially damaging class action lawsuit in the USA as well as an earlier action in Israel.
This news came just days after it was announced that American outdoor company Dick’s Sporting Goods suffered a drop in sales when it removed assault rifles from its stores following the Parkland school shooting in Florida (Dick’s had sold the Parkland shooter a gun though not the one used in his deadly rampage). The company also stopped selling “virtually all” hunting items as a trial at ten stores.
It would be a difficult thing to get right, as there is obviously a risk of appearing a smug ‘right-on’ sort of outfit that tries hard to be sneering at the right thing at the right time.