The Colour of Brands in 2021: Is racism really a thing of the past in today’s marketing landscape?
As a branding professional, and a bit of a marketing history buff, I’ve always been fascinated by how a brand’s identity is so reflective of the era in which it was created or, in many cases, recreated. Of course, there’s the obvious visual cues influenced by current style trends like font, colour and symbol stylings. But that’s not really what I’m talking about in this article. What I am referring to is the parts of a brand that take their cues from or represent deeper, more subtle influences based on time and place. What I’m talking about is at the core of every successful brand out there, and that’s the ‘brand story’. For some brands today, however, the cues aren’t so subtle, and their story needs to change – and change for good.
It’s February 2021 – Black History Month. An opportune time for discussion around racism in brands. As it relates to marketing, here’s what I’m seeing right now. Several big brands are faced with addressing their story and, in most cases, rewriting them due to racial equity driven imperatives. They have arguably been forced to revisit their [brand’s] history under the pressure of a very attentive, and scrutinizing audience – the world in 2021.
Case in point, brands that continued to thrive in early 2020 despite their overt racist cues:
Note: CPG brands seem to top the list. Merely an observation.
You know marketing news has gone mainstream when your teenage son tells you that Aunt Jemima is rebranding due to its racist references (his words exactly). That said, I’d also gone into February with the goal of digging a bit deeper into the brands most impacted by the current Black Lives Matter movement and a recently enlightened and highly sensitized global audience. It took minimal effort to find the best examples of these aforementioned brands. My first Google search for “Brands and racism” resulted in a multitude of examples. Most of which were surprisingly recent.
Top of the list: Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s, and Land O’ Lakes. It’s interesting to note that all are CPG, which was not part of my search criteria. I also quickly saw that they had something – beyond equity in racism – in common: They’re all knee-deep in the process of rebranding. In fact, the same three brands (and a few others) kept topping the results list whenever I combined racist and brands in my search terms. Don’t get me wrong, there are many more than those I’ve named, but why those same ones? Because of all the buzz around them changing their identities, of course.
These brands are ‘big’ news because they are doing away with the bad, the oppressive, the outdated, and are now part of an important racial equity movement… or one might hope. In reality, this is not the case in my humble opinion. The only story I see here is a corporate PR one. Rife with your standard/canned Public Relations jargon… “… long overdue… the right time… Company A is owned by Company B… will continue to be a household brand… making a donation to…yadayadayada.”
I went into this article with a noble-if-somewhat-self-serving cause, to dive into the history of racism in marketing and its ultimate undoing. Ironically, I came out having needed only to look at the past couple of week to see contributing factors like tolerance and denial as present as ever, with yours truly as a fellow contributor to problem.
So what’s my point? I’m not quite sure yet. Work with me here… Other than being disappointed by what’s considered industry news during Black History Month… Maybe it’s shame in my industry, or that it’s a too-little-too-late kind of story unworthy of the attention it’s getting at such an opportune time to do something great. Perhaps it stems from something I learned about in 2020 amidst the Black Lives Matter movement – systemic racism. As a privileged-if-uninformed white Canadian male, I’m not proud to admit that I only learned the facts about systemic racism in my fifties. That said, it did, and will, have a significant impact on how I see and choose to look at marketing moving forward.
Black History Month created an excellent opportunity to practice what I’d learned and apply a new lens to how I see and explore a marketing business problem. As often is the case with me, the strategist and wiseguy, my intention is not to fix or stop the problem. Rather, it is to be more aware of and attentive to it. Making observations that are as objective as possible and without judgement.
In the case of racist brands making good, and with this intention in place, I don’t know if I see the problem more clearly. What I do see is its potential enormity and sadly, to my own chagrin, I’m only seeing it for the first time. A problem pervasive to the point where brands that top the list are currently sitting in my very own kitchen pantry. Ugh. Shame? Yep. Tolerance be damned. Denial? Not this time. I’ve called myself out as a contributor to the problem. A very small but humbling first step.
Now excuse me as I sheepishly dispose of some rice and pancake mix…
Ok, I’m back. And ready to share my personal opinion: It’s February 2021 and it is no longer OK to forgive or tolerate oppressive aspects of any brand in defense of compromising its (and your) success. May I recommend some key steps forward:
- Stop turning your back on what needs to happen. It’s already happening.
- Take the time to seek and understand the very recent needs of consumers. And I mean really recent.
- Face, recognize and accept the mistakes of the past. Don’t brush over them – yet again.
- Do something good about it that benefits the customer first, then the world, and then the company.
- Celebrate what/who/why your brand wants to and can be today.
- Rinse and repeat. Often.
I’m not saying this for the first time: A brand is so much more than a logo. Every brand has a story, like it or not. Good or bad, a brand has the power to influence and control how it’s perceived, because brands ultimately ‘live’ in the minds of consumers. The role of the brand is to convey a consistent message, regularly, over time, and always most relevant to the present. In this way, brands make connections with consumers and drive loyalty. There it is, everything you need to know about marketing your brand. A reminder to us all that brands can change for good, but it’s a process that takes time, effort, and investment. Most important, it requires forethought.
There are so many excellent examples of big brands doing great things right now, and for the right reasons. Reasons that align with and reinforce what they stand for. Brands like Nike, NFL, Sephora, and Budweiser to name a few.
I apologize for taking the more negative road here, but sometimes calling out the bad behaviours (my own included) drives greater motivation to do better.
So please, brand marketing community, let’s all remember do a better job than what I’ve showcased here. If anything, let my own eye-opening journey be your motivation for how NOT to right the wrongs of your brand’s story.
“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” – Arnold Glasow
The time is now.
SP Wiseguy out!
For more on my views of this topic, listen to my Two Marketeers Podcast here:
