Founder and CEO of JSA+ partnersa strategic communications company that partners with consumer technology, digital media and gaming companies.
Since the first New York City Pride March was held in 1970 to commemorate the anniversary of the historic Stonewall uprising, Pride Month has served as a celebration of progress and a beacon of hope for the LGBTQ+ community. As society has progressed toward social awareness and progressive legislation, celebrations have increased and businesses around the world have shown up in support. However, just as corporate sustainability campaigns have been perpetrators of “greenwashing” – pretending to be more environmentally friendly than they actually are – “wash rainbowhas become just as prevalent in Pride campaigns.
While using a corporate platform to support Pride is inherently positive, I believe the motivation should come from a place of authentic caring and genuine alliance. We’ve witnessed the highs and lows of Pride campaigns in recent years, from Tinder’s 2022 campaign that highlighted a major sticking point in the legislation, Bud Light’s poor delivery rack with advocates shaking their heads in disappointment. I’ve identified three key guidelines that are important to keep in mind for brands traveling down the rainbow rabbit hole.
True pride never gives in.
It’s no secret that Pride is politically charged, and brands often face unfortunate (though unavoidable) backlash from certain audience segments when they make a public statement or release a product line in support of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Target faced boycott calls and customer response (paywall) both shop on social media for their latest pro-Pride merchandise, including children’s books on transgender issues and gender fluidity. The retailer responded by removing items that elicited confrontational behavior, citing potential safety risks for store employees. After releasing a statement reinforcing their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, the public and advocacy groups criticized Target for yielding to pressure and failing to fully commit.
Similarly, Bud Light recently instigated a boycott and digital smear campaign of far-right audiences after posting a social media collaboration with trans content creator Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light sales plummeted as a result, and when the company’s vague statement showed no support for Mulvaney or the trans community, the company angry consumers on both sides of the business.
While Pride campaigns often run the risk of alienating certain audience segments, these examples show that shrinking or giving in to the upset public ends up backfiring, leaving out the groups the campaign was originally supposed to support. Companies need to carefully consider their approach and understand that while some may not support their point of view, changing the tone to appease certain groups can be a major detriment to building brand affinity and consumer trust across the board.
Lighten the blind spots.
One of the most common criticisms of Pride campaigns has to do with their overall thoughtlessness:using rainbow colors on packaging or merchandise alongside uninspired messages. To create a well-received campaign, you need to dig deeper by using your platform to shine a light on specific issues at the heart of the LGBTQ+ community as well as underrepresented groups that are often misunderstood by the general public .
For example, instead of launching a run-of-the-mill campaign, dating app Tinder decided in 2022 to address the problem of division of the ban on many LGBTQ+ men from donating blood. Working with the human rights campaign’s advocacy group, they wanted to raise awareness around a 40-year-old policy that is believed to stigmatize much of the community. The campaign called on the FDA to lift the restrictions while actively promoting and recruiting participants for the ADVANCE trial, which aims to disprove the claims behind the ban and make blood donation more inclusive.
Take advantage of the community.
Just as Hollywood often gets backlash for hiring cisgender, heterosexual actors to play queer characters, the communication architects behind Pride campaigns have a responsibility to engage the community. This can be like highlighting the LGBTQ+ voices of customers and employees or using them for focus groups and market research when building these campaigns.
In 2021, Chevrolet launched their first Authentic voices of pride series in collaboration with LGBTQ nation. The series featured in-depth editorials plus documentary-style interviews with celebrities, influencers and everyday people from the LGBTQ+ community to share their stories and experiences on the community’s most important issues, such as the challenges queer couples face as they try to adopt children in conservative states. Chevrolet also made significant donations to five charities addressing the same issues raised in the campaign. The series is in its third season this year and even won a coveted one Shorty award. The campaign found success by drawing attention to the not-so-glamorous issues that matter most to the community, rather than relying on shallow messaging or support.
While Pride campaigns can be tricky territory for businesses to navigate, the common thread running through these lessons is the importance of making sure messages come from an authentic place of ally. To truly resonate, a brand’s campaign needs to move beyond contrived, “fluff marketing” and show that they are listening and engaged with the issues that matter most to the communities caught in the middle of it.
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Janice has been with businesskinda for 5 years, writing copy for client websites, blog posts, EDMs and other mediums to engage readers and encourage action. By collaborating with clients, our SEO manager and the wider businesskinda team, Janice seeks to understand an audience before creating memorable, persuasive copy.