How Brands Should Communicate Right Now

Over the last 2–3 months, I’ve been advising businesses and organizations on what to say to their communities during the multiple crises we’re going through. The global cultural landscape is getting complicated, with a number of simultaneous, overlapping generational events unfolding in real time: COVID-19, the economic meltdown, the tragic murder of George Floyd, peaceful protests all over the world, looting, and a highly contentious presidential election.

What I’m finding, in discussion with dozens of organizations, is a lot of confusion about what to say and when to say it. Businesses are wondering if they should take the leap and mention current events and if so, how they should frame the discussion. Brand communication at this moment is a complicated undertaking. In particular, I’m seeing a whole range of responses around the discussion of George Floyd, diversity & inclusion and racism. These are thorny issues, and I understand why some brands are staying out of the discussion entirely.

But that’s not what I recommend. Here’s why most businesses should make a statement and how they can show up in the best way:

1. The era of “stick to sports” and “shut up and dribble” died in 2016 when Lebron James had to fend off critics after he’d commented about Trump during the presidential campaign. One can no longer separate huge, important cultural issues from any business or sport. None of us lives in a vacuum, and our businesses don’t either. So it’s acceptable for any organization to have a point of view on these issues. But it has to be communicated authentically and thoughtfully. While some business leaders have shared with me that it’s “too risky” to jump into a discussion on race, there is also risk in standing on the sidelines. Any business that does so is at risk of coming across as tone deaf and insensitive. Even worse, people of color within a community of employees and customers may decide that the business does not have their back. I always feel that it’s better for a business to have a point of view than not to. Take a stand.
2. Involve your employees and customers in the conversation. Your communication should not be imposed on a top-down basis. I’ve been encouraged by the passion and creativity I’ve seen from employees on the subject of gender and racial diversity when I’ve had these discussions recently. The overwhelming majority of employees (if not leaders) I’ve spoken with feel that race and diversity are critical issues that should be addressed publicly by their business. In particular, make sure to solicit the point of view of people of color within your own community when crafting communications around race. Whatever the business, the commitment to solving problems gets deeper and more real when the whole team is part of the process.
3. A business should always defer to their mission statement to understand how communications can be framed within the context of their brand. There’s no one right way to speak about these issues, and any brand communication should be contextually relevant to the mission and community involved. If your organization doesn’t have a mission statement, now is a good time to craft one. I spent the last couple days working with one client on communications around race and current events, and their newly minted mission statement provided helpful guidance on why it was important to start a conversation with their community of customers and employees.
4. If you’ve not lived up to your values in the past, expect to be called out when you try and reverse course now. As an example, read the comments below this Instagram post from the NFL. The league had essentially fired Colin Kaepernick after he exercised his first amendment rights to peaceful protest by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, and now they claim to want to “Address these systemic issues with our players….” They immediately come across as hypocritical and inauthentic, and it’s almost impossible for the NFL to say anything credible about race at this point.
5. As I’ve advised brands during the pandemic, here’s a 3-step framework for any piece of crisis communication:

• Be honest. We’re in the middle of the most important and diverse conversation on race relations in a generation if not longer. And racism and police brutality are real issues that need to be tackled. It’s ok to point these things out. These are not “political” issues that should be controversial. They’re facts, and every American should consider it their responsibility to jump in and help however they can.
• Be empathetic. Make sure to publicly support those in your community (employees, customers, partners) who may have suffered from racism in their own lives.

• Have an action plan. This is crucially important. Without a commitment to actually doing something, the honesty and empathy feel hollow. I felt that a lot of brand communication, in particular Instagram posts using the #blackouttuesday hashtag, over the last week has failed in this way. Sure, the sentiment is good, but how is this business going to become part of the solution? Just putting up a graphic with a quote from MLK isn’t enough. However, there were also some bright spots. The above Instagram post and concrete action plan from athletic footwear brand Hoka One One is excellent. Also this communication and initiative from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz was particularly good. It contains honesty, empathy and a very ambitious action plan. Your plan does not need the scale and budget of these plans; we’re all just getting hit by these issues and working on our next steps. It’s ok for your action plan to be “a committee of employees who will work on our next steps.” The important thing is to commit to some kind of action, however modest, and then follow through on it.

Remember these components: Take a stand, consult with employees and customers, reference your mission statement, always live up to your values, and execute the 3-step action plan. Now is the time to step out of your comfort zone and join the discussion.