Brands, It's Time for Reparations
Corporations have benefited from black culture through the appropriation of their music, food and fashion for far too long. It's time for brands to pay up. Consumers want immediate change but bristle from empty gestures and PR promises. The world is watching, especially Gen Z, who hold the keys to the future and the pursestrings to keep corporations accountable. Brands need to think beyond reacting to this moment and instead – identify their role in leading a movement.
Money Over Hashtags
After just three weeks of protests, policy changes, resignations and apologies, our national dialog is starting to shift. The question is "are these changes catalytic or cosmetic?" The answer may be both. Four hundred years of inequality can't be fixed in a matter of weeks – but the road to retribution begins with reparations. It's time for brands to take the lead and put their money where their hashtags are.
While our government isn't able (or willing) to act fast enough, brands need to rethink their approach to racism from the inside out and allocate funds that are significant enough to signal their commitment. Platitudes like a "portion of proceeds", or a "day of donations" won't cut it. Talk is cheap, especially to Gen Z – now the largest consumer base on earth representing $140 billion in direct spending power. These young consumers are making the companies they support accountable.
Kids-In-Control
At 82 million strong, Gen Z is a larger segment than millennials (80 million) and now control the conversation as the enter their 20s. They are changing the way we think faster than any other cohort. Unlike Boomers or Gen Xers, they demand that brands weigh in on social causes, share their values and make their lives better in meaningful ways. Close to 90% of Gen Z consumers support the #BlackLivesMatter movement and 78% have personally used social media to amplify that message.
Gen Z supports the brands that believe in their vision, and cancel those that don't. This policy is increasingly being applied to impotent brands that remain idle regarding systemic racism. When today's teenagers hit their 30s, there will be more minorities than whites in the U.S. for the first time in history. This shift in demography is amplified through technology and it puts them in control when it comes to public opinion. What they lack in disposable income, they make up for in impact – across generations Gen Z holds the cultural megaphone.
TikTok – Time's Up
As one of the fastest growing social platforms — TikTok is evolving into a hub for activism. Since George Floyd's murder, videos with the #blacklivesmatter hashtag have exceeded 10 billions views and are driving conversations about racism and police brutality. Users share everything from arguments with their families around how racism is being handled politically, to co-opting songs like the Chainsmoker's hit Paris, to augment their narrative.
While some creators have shared lists of books to read this summer about race and racism, others are making their own videos scored with songs like Childish Gambino's This Is America. This combination of video, audio, pop culture and social justice is a powerful mix that resonates with Gen Z and fuels support for the movement. Savvy marketers would be wise to spend some time here to understand the issue from their unfiltered perspective.
Inclusion Beyond Casting
In creating the first digital march ever for Girls Who Code, we at MI&C learned that inclusion goes beyond just casting choices. For agencies and brands today, there needs to be a holistic collaboration that welcomes the opinions, creative ideas and concerns of those we reach. For us, that meant having our talent write their own dialogue, participate in the creative process, create their own look, location, actions and messaging. Our campaign was co-created with the community, which translated into engagement and measurable impact receiving 255,000+ hashtag mentions, 2M+ video views, 658M+ TikTok views and two honors from the Communicator Awards.
Brands must re-think the creative process to include brand ambassadors, influencers, partners and employees. When stakeholders actually have a stake, they care more, stay involved, help drive true holistic inclusivity – and bring success.
Key Considerations
Jaded consumers demand results, tell them how you're changing and how much you're giving to inspire real progress
Gen Z is too large and wields too much purchasing power to be ignored, brands that do, risk losing their loyalty – and their business
TikTok has evolved to become Gen Z 's cultural epicenter, brands need a presence here to be relatable and remain relevant beyond a trendy hashtag challenge
Inclusion means co-creation and holistic collaboration with your community and customers – real change takes teamwork
This article originally appeared in the June 16th, 2020 issue of Moving Image & Content’s agency newsletter. Register here to subscribe.