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Brands' Engagement in Social Issues Presents Marketing and Communications with Additional Responsibilities
September 07, 2022 | Report
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This is one of a series of insight papers drawn from our latest wave of research into Multicultural Consumers in North America. For more insights into this topic, please visit: https://www.conference-board.org/topics/multicultural-consumer |
Consumers are looking to brands to advocate for their interests
Many US consumers expect companies to be involved in and speak out on social and political issues. This is especially pronounced in the Asian, Black, higher-income, and younger segments.
These high expectations for businesses are consistent with the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022 finding that people expect businesses to be even more in the lead in the face of falling trust in governments and the media. While most people recognize the impact that companies, including their employer, can have through their actions, not everyone thinks that companies should engage in social issues. Notably, a third of the 55+ year demographic disagrees that business should involve itself in social and political issues. This underlines the challenge that companies have if they serve a wider market, trying to please different target audiences without upsetting certain segments.
Most US consumers want companies to engage in social issues
The differential preferences by segment align with how a brand’s stance on social and political issues influences consumers’ choice to buy—or boycott—a brand. It is the under-35-year-olds and people with incomes above $75,000 whose purchase decisions seem to be most influenced—both positively and negatively—by brands’ positions and actions regarding such topics. For brands catering to these segments, it is particularly important to stay on top of their customers’ attitudes on the issues of the moment and decide whether they should act on them—and to communicate their positions clearly.
A brand’s social or political stance can almost equally evoke positive or negative reactio
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