Racial Injustice & Brand Trust

It was inevitable that with the rise of neo-fascism in America brands would be forced to take sides and public stands on social issues.

Edelman’s long-standing trust survey bears this out by illustrating consumer attitudes and expectations for how brands act in the face of racial injustice.

• Sixty-four percent of US adults expect companies to set an example within their own organization when responding to racial injustice.
• Sixty-three percent want a brand’s communications to reflect the full diveristy of the country.
• Sixty-one percent want companies to make their products accessible and suitable to all communities.
• Sixty percent want brands to commit to addressing the root causes of racial inequality.
• Sixty percent want brands to acknowledge the problem of racial injustice exists.
• Fifty-eight percent want companies to inspire their customers and employees to get involved in addressing racial injustice.
• Fifty-eight percent want brands to advocate for racial equality.
• Fifty-seven percent want brands to educate the public on racial injustice.

It is surprising how quickly attitudes have changed. It was a mere four years ago when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality.

Two years later, Nike took all kinds of heat for featuring Kaepernick in a commercial.

But it took the graphic, recorded evidence of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officers and the protests against police brutality that followed to open the eyes of a wide swath of the American public to the injustices that still exist in our society.

This event sparked a moral reckoning that appears to have shifted public opinion profoundly and to the point that brands must acknowledge and respond.

Danielle DeLauro, executive vice president of Vab, an organization that provides video advertising insights to marketers and agencies, joins eMarketer co-founder and Insider Intelligence chief evangelist Geoff Ramsey to discuss the role of brands in addressing social issues and the importance of video to drive messaging about diversity and inclusion.