Americans don’t want their favorite brands weighing in on politics
Many business leaders and consumer experts believe that it is becoming less popular for American businesses to publicly express their opinions on current events because it tends to polarize and alienate people.
In recent years, a wide range of organizations, including sports teams, clothing brands, beverage companies, food labels and corporate giants, have entered the nation’s most divisive public policy debates. However, a new poll conducted by Gallup and Bentley University suggests that a majority of Americans do not want businesses to voice their opinions on highly controversial political and social issues.
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Jennifer Say, a former marketing executive at Levi’s who was fired from the company for her outspoken stance against school closings during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the poll appears to point to consumers on both sides as more brands become politically active. The political spectrum feels excluded and left with fewer options.
According to a Gallup poll, nearly 60% of Americans believe businesses should refrain from taking a public stance on current events, a significant increase from 52% the previous year. The survey found that political affiliation, race and age were key factors in determining how Americans thought businesses should behave in this regard.
“People primarily want the freedom to buy products they adore and engage with beloved brands without the burden of politics,” asserts Sey.
The survey revealed that there are few issues on which Americans are more open to businesses. These include climate change (55% approval), mental health (52% approval), free speech (49% approval) and health care (48% approval). In contrast, abortion (26% approval), political candidates (19% approval) and religion (15% approval) were the least popular areas for businesses to express opinions.
Will Hild, executive director of Consumer Research (CR), which runs a campaign criticizing companies that ally with “awake politicians” without serving their customers, said the poll’s results contradicted political bias. He pointed out that while 55% of Americans support taking a business stance on climate change, 45% oppose it or are indifferent.
Consumer Research (CR) runs a subscription-based texting campaign called “Voc Alerts” that notify consumers when a company has adopted a “woke” stance. Previous warnings have covered companies such as Ben and Jerry’s, The North Face, Kohl’s, Target and Bud Light.
“I believe that more and more Americans are becoming aware of the opportunism that many corporations exhibit when they engage in politics, and even people who, on paper, share the same position with these companies…they realize that corporations often do this for their own benefit,” Hilde explained.
In his view, the most important takeaway from the poll is that in every category Gallup surveyed, people are less inclined to support businesses that express opinions on political issues than they were in 2022, he pointed out.
“Generally speaking, companies don’t want to alienate 45% of Americans,” he said. “Besides, if you give it another year, the situation may change, because the trends are clearly shifting in that direction.”
Josh Cadillac, a business expert, also argued that while some Americans may be comfortable with business expressing their views on environmental issues, they may be less willing to support those views with their wallets if they lead to higher prices.
He notes, “People may like climate change activism, but if you ask them how much extra they’re willing to pay for products to support this cause, when it starts to affect their finances, you’ll see a very different response.”
The rise of corporate activism and events like Pride Month have put more pressure on American businesses to voice their opinions on social, political and cultural issues. However, according to a Gallup poll, only 37% of Americans believe businesses should take a public stance on LGBTQ+ issues, 45% on racial issues, 39% on gun laws, 34% on immigration policy and 27% on international conflicts.
There have been notable instances where businesses have created controversy and faced significant backlash. For example, Bud Light partnered with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney to promote March Madness, while Target faced backlash for its Pride displays, which included LGBTQ children’s clothing and “tuck-friendly” women’s swimsuits. As a result of these disputes, both companies have incurred billions of dollars in financial losses.
Will Hilde commented, “The Bud Light case illustrates that there can be a significant, devastating cost of paying that harms the long-term sustainability of a product. I hope companies learn from this and take steps to lay off people [employees]. Rather than a market-based approach to selling products and serving customers Priority is given to the political agenda.”
Bud Light sales declined 24.5% in just four weeks over the summer, and sales on a dollar basis were down 23.9% from a year earlier, suggesting that consumers were not on board with the brand’s decision. Some Target stores moved the controversial merchandise to the back of the store, but the company’s market value dropped $15 billion in the weeks after the Pride display.
“Given that more companies are adopting left-leaning positions, from Nike to Target to Budweiser, it’s not surprising that independent and right-leaning consumers are feeling increasingly isolated, while left-leaning consumers are more inclined to support companies that express public stances aligned with their views,” Sey observed.
She went on to caution, “For widely recognized brands, this leaves a significant portion of the population feeling unwelcome, which can impact the business of these major brands if consumers opt to distance themselves from them, as we’ve witnessed with Bud Light and Target.”
From a financial standpoint, Sey suggests that businesses are better off concentrating on delivering exceptional products while employing “unifying marketing” or what she terms “normie capitalism.” This approach appears to align with the current marketing trend because “it makes solid financial sense given the division in the country.”
Political party affiliation exerts the most significant influence on whether Americans believe corporations should take a stance on political matters, with over 60% of Democrats in favor of such actions, down from 75% in 2022.
Josh Cadillac points out an intriguing trend: support for businesses that take a stand on political issues has declined significantly among the Democratic caucus. This suggests that the strategy of suppressing opposing viewpoints is now affecting some issues that Democrats typically support.
In contrast, only 17% of Republicans and 36% of independents share the same opinion as their Democratic counterparts, representing a drop from 18% and 40%, respectively, in 2022.
“I believe that even Democrats and liberals, who are more likely to see corporations adopting positions they generally agree with, are realizing that they may not approve of it being dishonest or motivated by financial gain. So, everyone is becoming more aware of fraud.” Hild commented.
Sey pointed out that even Democrats who appreciate the stances taken by companies like Nike or Target are now forced to consider other practices, such as concerns over human rights related to manufacturing in China.
“Until now, they’ve been willing to ignore these issues in favor of advertising campaigns celebrating events like Pride or Women’s History Month,” says Say. “But at some point, they’ll either have to reconsider or value great products, which seems to be the preferred approach.”
Race also played an important role in how Americans expressed their views on whether businesses should be involved in political issues. Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to support businesses that take an open stance. In addition, younger Americans are more inclined than older Americans to favor businesses that express opinions on current events, but overall, those numbers have declined since 2022.
Josh Cadillac noted that the polling results reflect a social shift, with boycotts once primarily carried out by the left now becoming a tool used by both sides of the political spectrum.
“It’s safer for businesses to align with progressive ideas because the other side may have grievances, but it generally hasn’t affected their purchasing decisions; the right has not particularly tended to engage in boycotts,” he explained. “Now, it seems to be a strategy used by both sides, and what you’re seeing is that consumers are getting tired of the conflict.”