Brands stay on the sidelines when it comes to hot-button social and political issues. That’s the historical adage, at least.
But nowadays, American consumers often expect – and even demand – that companies form an opinion on issues they’re close to.
Women’s rights are a prime example.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has been a total “eye-opener” for consumers in terms of what they expect from companies, said Ida Rezvani, chief client officer of dentsu Americas, at the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) Masters of Marketing Conference in Orlando this week.
Dentsu surveyed a random and census-representative sample of 1,000 Americans over the summer to gauge what consumers expect from brands in light of the Roe v. Wade decision. And those expectations were “very clear for brands, marketers and even for employers,” Rezvani said.
In other words, she said, customers are giving the advertising industry “permission to have an opinion.”
It’s a delicate balance, and often a trade-off. But if brands meet customer expectations, Rezvani added, it helps grow both brand preference and purchase intent.
Money talks
More than half of the people dentsu surveyed said if a brand spoke up on behalf of abortion rights, it would increase their affinity to buy from the company, for instance, while only 19% said they would prefer to avoid the brand afterward.
Expectations within the workplace are also critical for companies to consider, because “employees are our first customers,” Rezvani said. “And [their opinions are] a pretty representative indicator of what’s going on in the world.”
Just over half of the survey respondents said a company’s support for abortion rights would increase their willingness to work there. Conversely, 40% said they’re less likely to work for a company that supports the Roe v. Wade overturn.
Those numbers are more lopsided among Gen Zers and millennials, Rezvani added.
Digging deeper
Customer survey responses may point in one clear direction. But brands still aren’t eager to jump straight into the public eye with political opinions that could become the central idea people associate with the company.
A keener decision, even for marketing purposes, is sometimes to focus internally.
Being supportive of issues in terms of a work environment could ultimately drive growth and business outcomes on the back of retention and hiring advantages, according to Joanna Jenkins, a professor of marketing and gender studies at Rutgers University, who was also speaking at the ANA event.
For example, many companies made strong internal commitments to, say, supporting employees or their family members who must cross state lines to procure an abortion or some other form of medical care that could be illegal or prevented in some states now. It’s not a campaign with a marketing budget, but it remains a part of the business and the brand.
That inclusivity extends far beyond just hiring more women or the issue of abortion rights, Jenkins said. Women should be equally represented in leadership positions and have necessary support from their employers, which could span from pay parity to child daycare options.
Dentsu, for example, has committed to filling half of the company’s directional and leadership teams with women by 2025, Rezvani said. Currently, 53% of dentsu’s director-level employees are women. But women only hold 36% of the company’s top leadership roles.
As an industry, “we’ve made progress, but there’s a lot of work left to be done,” she said.
Women of color, women with disabilities and women who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are even more drastically underrepresented in the workplace, especially in positions of leadership.
When it comes to that level of intersectionality, Rezvani said, the industry “hasn’t even scratched the surface.”
