American companies take a stand against racism

Text by: Ariane Gaffuri Follow

Nike, Mac Donald, Netflix, General Motors, Amazon and H&M ... Many American and even international companies are emerging from their silence and are openly campaigning against racism. They echo the protests taking place in the United States after the death of George Floyd, an African-American asphyxiated during a police check in Minneapolis. Three questions for Grégoire Mialet, president of C-Ways, a marketing consulting firm.

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RFI : American and even international companies, all sectors combined, have openly supported the anti-racism movement in the United States since the death of Georges Floyd. How is this support characterized?

Grégoire Mailet: Brands are communicating a lot about racism at the moment, but above all, they have understood that to communicate, that is to say to react to an event, to condemn it is no longer enough. Brands need to go much further than a simple press release, or even donations of $ 100,000 to this or that association. They must position themselves as real players in this social movement. And for that, they take risks. To take a risk is to be able to put your "business" on the table to say: I agree, because these are values ​​that I hold dear. We have seen fashion brands close stores all day long - Fenty, Rihanna's brand, and H&M for example - to say: the black community is a community that is very important. It is a strong position because it is clear-cut, with, for these companies, an eye on the long-term repercussions of having engaged in the fight against racism.  

Another example, Nike has transformed its famous slogan "Just Do It -" into "Don't do it", in reference to racism. A campaign that its competitor Adidas immediately relayed. Nike is also one of the first to have publicly committed in 2016 by supporting Colin Kaepernick . The American football player had kneeled on the ground during the American anthem to protest against police violence against blacks in the United States. Nike had taken a strong risk by teaming up with this much-criticized player, even by Donald Trump, in the presidential campaign, but he has benefited from it since and still today because he is consistent with his commitments.

Let's all be part of the change. # UntilWeAllWin pic.twitter.com/guhAG48Wbp

Police violence against blacks is not a new phenomenon in the United States. What has changed this time for brands to break their usual silence?

The silence was, it is true, deafening. The brands engaged relatively little. For several reasons. This is an extremely sensitive subject in the United States because the racial question is glaring. In France and in other Europeans, this question is not addressed because ethnic statistics and ethnic marketing are not allowed, so the brands cannot position themselves concretely on this subject. But there is a break. Something has changed and this is due to the accumulation of racist events in the United States and the strength of what happened on May 25. The video of the arrest of George Floyd shocked everyone and caused a very strong emotion. Brands must respond to this emotion and position themselves.

Brands must therefore respond to, or even anticipate, the needs of consumers…

Brands are extremely powerful players in society. They cannot remain completely silent in the face of events that arouse such a level of emotion in the world. The consumer is himself more and more activist. It expects concrete actions from brands. Actions, not just words. He also expects a strong commitment. A commitment, for him, is to buy brands that convey the values ​​to which he subscribes. It is also an opportunity for him to educate other consumers about these values. The consumer is in this spirit and the brand is obliged to respond to this demand. It must adapt to the values ​​of its customers. It is a new era in the consumer society. Brands must adapt much more than they did before to the values ​​held by their customers.

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