behindyourightnow
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- May 17, 2021
More recent articles on the same subject. These two had not been archived so I hope they hadn't been posted here yet:
A year after marketing turmoil, a more subdued Pride Month
At the halfway mark, marketing around Pride Month is noticeably subdued compared to last year, when protests marred many celebrations, including the campaigns at brands and retailers.
This is especially true at Target, where the exuberant merchandising and signage of 2023 have been replaced by, in some stores, no mention of Pride at all. Pride-related items at the mass retailer are relegated to its website and only select stores. Target’s online Pride page is fairly minimal compared to J.C. Penney’s, which features several colorful banners with information about special merchandise, supported projects and charities, some of their own LGBTQ+ employees, and portraits of designers and brand founders who are partnering with them for Pride Month.
It isn’t just Target scaling back. Barbara Kahn, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, has noticed a marked decrease in brand messaging around Pride this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean a sea change in retailers’ support, she said.
“I think retailers are doing what they did before,” she said by phone. “They’re supporting the community, but they’re not blaring their horns about it. They’re not really taking credit for it. They’re not pushing it.”
This indeed has been Target’s emphasis this year. For this story, a company spokesperson reiterated a statement from last month, saying that “ Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round.”
“Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target,” the statement continued. “We have long offered benefits and resources for the community, and we will have internal programs to celebrate Pride 2024.”
The lower-key marketing likely springs from last year’s severe pushback. As anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric flared on social media, agitators singled out Target, which had prominent displays at many stores and merchandise designed for transgender people. Citing safety concerns, the company scaled back Pride displays at some locations, which in turn prompted another backlash, this time from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and allies.
Last year, some within and outside the community worried that the retreat signaled deterioration in support for LGBTQ+ people and causes. Groups like the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN and others issued statements and spoke to the media to urge Target to rethink its pullback. This year, many of those same groups haven’t responded to requests or declined to comment for this story.
Everyone is likely taking a pause, Kahn said.
This is especially true at Target, where the exuberant merchandising and signage of 2023 have been replaced by, in some stores, no mention of Pride at all. Pride-related items at the mass retailer are relegated to its website and only select stores. Target’s online Pride page is fairly minimal compared to J.C. Penney’s, which features several colorful banners with information about special merchandise, supported projects and charities, some of their own LGBTQ+ employees, and portraits of designers and brand founders who are partnering with them for Pride Month.
It isn’t just Target scaling back. Barbara Kahn, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, has noticed a marked decrease in brand messaging around Pride this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean a sea change in retailers’ support, she said.
“I think retailers are doing what they did before,” she said by phone. “They’re supporting the community, but they’re not blaring their horns about it. They’re not really taking credit for it. They’re not pushing it.”
This indeed has been Target’s emphasis this year. For this story, a company spokesperson reiterated a statement from last month, saying that “ Target is committed to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round.”
“Most importantly, we want to create a welcoming and supportive environment for our LGBTQIA+ team members, which reflects our culture of care for the over 400,000 people who work at Target,” the statement continued. “We have long offered benefits and resources for the community, and we will have internal programs to celebrate Pride 2024.”
The lower-key marketing likely springs from last year’s severe pushback. As anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric flared on social media, agitators singled out Target, which had prominent displays at many stores and merchandise designed for transgender people. Citing safety concerns, the company scaled back Pride displays at some locations, which in turn prompted another backlash, this time from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and allies.
Last year, some within and outside the community worried that the retreat signaled deterioration in support for LGBTQ+ people and causes. Groups like the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN and others issued statements and spoke to the media to urge Target to rethink its pullback. This year, many of those same groups haven’t responded to requests or declined to comment for this story.
Everyone is likely taking a pause, Kahn said.
Opinion: A quiet Pride Month is bad for business and bad for society
The culture wars continue to drive brands away from their DE&I commitments, with the latest proof playing out in a very quiet Pride Month.
In recent years, Pride Month has become an easy way for brands to signal their support to the burgeoning queer community by acknowledging their identities publicly. Pride-themed packaging, rainbow-hued product lines and presences at annual Pride parades not only demonstrated public community support, but were also profitable investments — given the LGBTQ+ community has nearly $1.4 trillion in spending power in the U.S.
But since the Bud Light fiasco of 2023, when a vocal conservative minority sparked a revolt against the brand for a relatively small partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Pride Month, like much in this country, has gone from straightforward and celebratory to complex and polarizing.
This year, reports mark an eerily quiet start to the month associated with rainbows, sparkles and noisy brand support. Companies have scaled back on Pride investments, such as Target, which canceled its Pride collection in the states that need visibility the most. As a result, many agencies report seeing a decrease in Pride Month projects overall this year.
A lot has changed since 2020, when corporations broadly viewed taking clear, outspoken positions on social and ESG issues as good business. DE&I backlash has risen in response to growing visibility and equity, and these initiatives and commitments have suffered as those hired to oversee them were disproportionately laid off shortly after being hired en masse early in the pandemic.
The queer community sits at the center of anti-woke ire, with more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the U.S. last year — a record high. Issues like book banning and gender-affirming care have politicized the identities of an entire population.
Suddenly, the corporations that didn’t think twice about pledging solidarity with LGBTQ+ people and turning their social media icons rainbow in June are increasingly afraid of being called out loudly and viciously by a divided nation. According to a Gravity Research report covered in USA Today, which surveyed 200 communications and corporate affairs executives, 18% said the threat of conservative backlash led them to adjust Pride plans this year.
LGBTQ+ backlash is just one issue brands have to navigate, as they look to avoid minefields around the war in Gaza, abortion, immigration and an election that no one wants to mention, let alone align themselves with. In the era of brand apologies, the narrative has quickly shifted from “speak out and stand your ground” to “stay neutral — or stay out of it.”
However, this doesn’t necessarily align with what consumers want. According to a study by SurveyMonkey of 4,000 U.S. adults, around half of which identify as LGBTQ+, 72% said brands should not reduce their 2024 Pride activities to avoid backlash and social media criticism.
As for the community itself, 32% of LGBTQ+ individuals surveyed said they have boycotted or stopped supporting a company due to its lack of acknowledgment of Pride, a clear signal that this burgeoning cohort shops with companies aligned with their values — and avoids those that aren’t.
Brands are receding from LGBTQ+ support at a time when the community is rapidly growing; nearly 30% of Gen Z adults identify as queer, substantially higher than previous estimates. For all of the talk about wanting to connect with Gen Z, this seems out of step for many marketers.
Brands now live in a world where they’re cautiously looking over their shoulders at every display of solidarity, waiting for backlash that comes rapidly and seemingly without warning. This is putting marginalized communities — the very same ones that are growing exponentially in the U.S. — back in the shadows. It’s bad for business, and it’s bad for society.
Like many decisions companies make these days, avoiding Pride is a symptom of short-term thinking that keeps companies from achieving progress — and will alienate and put off a changing population from their brands for years to come.
In recent years, Pride Month has become an easy way for brands to signal their support to the burgeoning queer community by acknowledging their identities publicly. Pride-themed packaging, rainbow-hued product lines and presences at annual Pride parades not only demonstrated public community support, but were also profitable investments — given the LGBTQ+ community has nearly $1.4 trillion in spending power in the U.S.
But since the Bud Light fiasco of 2023, when a vocal conservative minority sparked a revolt against the brand for a relatively small partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Pride Month, like much in this country, has gone from straightforward and celebratory to complex and polarizing.
This year, reports mark an eerily quiet start to the month associated with rainbows, sparkles and noisy brand support. Companies have scaled back on Pride investments, such as Target, which canceled its Pride collection in the states that need visibility the most. As a result, many agencies report seeing a decrease in Pride Month projects overall this year.
A lot has changed since 2020, when corporations broadly viewed taking clear, outspoken positions on social and ESG issues as good business. DE&I backlash has risen in response to growing visibility and equity, and these initiatives and commitments have suffered as those hired to oversee them were disproportionately laid off shortly after being hired en masse early in the pandemic.
The queer community sits at the center of anti-woke ire, with more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the U.S. last year — a record high. Issues like book banning and gender-affirming care have politicized the identities of an entire population.
Suddenly, the corporations that didn’t think twice about pledging solidarity with LGBTQ+ people and turning their social media icons rainbow in June are increasingly afraid of being called out loudly and viciously by a divided nation. According to a Gravity Research report covered in USA Today, which surveyed 200 communications and corporate affairs executives, 18% said the threat of conservative backlash led them to adjust Pride plans this year.
LGBTQ+ backlash is just one issue brands have to navigate, as they look to avoid minefields around the war in Gaza, abortion, immigration and an election that no one wants to mention, let alone align themselves with. In the era of brand apologies, the narrative has quickly shifted from “speak out and stand your ground” to “stay neutral — or stay out of it.”
However, this doesn’t necessarily align with what consumers want. According to a study by SurveyMonkey of 4,000 U.S. adults, around half of which identify as LGBTQ+, 72% said brands should not reduce their 2024 Pride activities to avoid backlash and social media criticism.
As for the community itself, 32% of LGBTQ+ individuals surveyed said they have boycotted or stopped supporting a company due to its lack of acknowledgment of Pride, a clear signal that this burgeoning cohort shops with companies aligned with their values — and avoids those that aren’t.
Brands are receding from LGBTQ+ support at a time when the community is rapidly growing; nearly 30% of Gen Z adults identify as queer, substantially higher than previous estimates. For all of the talk about wanting to connect with Gen Z, this seems out of step for many marketers.
Brands now live in a world where they’re cautiously looking over their shoulders at every display of solidarity, waiting for backlash that comes rapidly and seemingly without warning. This is putting marginalized communities — the very same ones that are growing exponentially in the U.S. — back in the shadows. It’s bad for business, and it’s bad for society.
Like many decisions companies make these days, avoiding Pride is a symptom of short-term thinking that keeps companies from achieving progress — and will alienate and put off a changing population from their brands for years to come.
This one was archived already, so apologized if it's been posted somewhere, but it's a great read if you want to experience both tranny L's and schadenfreude:
After last year’s Pride backlash, many brands back away from trans-inclusive campaigns
Most companies say they’re not fazed by Bud Light’s misfortune. In a survey of 200 corporate marketing execs by Gravity Research, 78% reported making no changes to their Pride Month marketing plans after 2023’s backlash. Eighteen percent said the “threat of conservative consumer backlash” prompted them to change course. Nine percent reported the same regarding progressive consumers.
Still, expert observers like Bennett, who’s been watching the LGBTQ marketing scene since the 1990s, see companies pulling back and proceeding with caution.
“Whether you want to call it the Bud Light or the Target effect,” Bennett said, referencing the 2023 backlash over Target’s trans-inclusive Pride merchandise. “Something has happened.”
Which is not to say corporate America is abandoning LGBTQ consumers. Sure, brands may value diversity and want to be inclusive. But marketing to the LGBTQ community is also about making money.
“It’s a market that’s a trillion-dollar consumer base,” said Joanna Schwartz, a professor of marketing at Georgia College & State University who specializes in LGBTQ marketing.
That consumer base is growing as more young Americans identify as LGBTQ. Schwartz said that’s part of why we’ve seen a solid decade of loud corporate support during Pride Month.
“Putting a rainbow on something or donating some money to an LGBT-focused charity has been a way for companies to get an easy win,” Schwartz said.
That is, until transphobia became commonplace in right-wing politics. This Pride Month, Schwartz said, brands are looking to court LGBTQ-consumers and their allies without drawing homophobic and especially transphobic ire that could hurt their bottom lines.
“It is a fine line to walk,” Schwartz said. “You can create that impact around your brand without doing anything that others might perceive as risque or daring.”
Schwartz said not all companies are retreating. For example, Apple is holding steady with a trans-inclusive campaign. But after last year’s backlash, many companies appear to be avoiding trigger points for right-wing outrage.
After suffering a sales hit tied to its 2023 campaign, Target won’t sell Pride apparel for kids in 2024 and will stock only some of its stores with Pride displays and merchandise.
The North Face defended its 2022 and 2023 Pride partnerships with drag queen Pattie Gonia, but hasn’t resumed it. The outdoor brand’s 2024 Pride social media post offers nondescript support.
Skittles has retreated from 2023’s inclusive candy package designs that featured messages like “Black Trans Lives Matter” in favor of a standard, six-color rainbow promotion.
And for the first time since 2020, Calvin Klein’s Pride campaign won’t be headlined by any out trans or nonbinary models. Actors Jeremy Pope and Cara Delevingne front the collection.
None of the companies above responded to interview requests from Marketplace.
Pope and Delevingne “are both queer if you happen to know that,” said TJ Billard, who studies media and transgender politics at Northwestern University. But to the casual viewer, Billard said, the ad might not even come across as supporting Pride.
After a few years of companies hoping to stand out with progressive campaigns, Billard said mass Pride marketing has become quieter, more generic and less political. Meanwhile, algorithms and influencer promotions enable brands to save the edgier stuff for a more targeted audience.
“Whether that’s TikTok or Instagram or whatever, queer people are going to see queer-supportive messages from these companies. It’s everyone else who’s not going to,” Billard said.
They said it’s “concerning” to see companies backing away in the face of anti-LGBTQ sentiment while a wave of conservative legislation seeks to block transgender Americans from accessing health care, public accommodations and legal recognition.
“It’s upsetting to an additional degree because it makes what was already a financial transaction-centered relationship [between corporations and] the queer community into something even more extractive,” Billard said.
Are brands alienating LGBTQ consumers? “Probably,” they said. But many seem to have made a decision: In this political climate, pushing back against homophobia, and especially transphobia, comes at too high a cost.
Still, expert observers like Bennett, who’s been watching the LGBTQ marketing scene since the 1990s, see companies pulling back and proceeding with caution.
“Whether you want to call it the Bud Light or the Target effect,” Bennett said, referencing the 2023 backlash over Target’s trans-inclusive Pride merchandise. “Something has happened.”
Which is not to say corporate America is abandoning LGBTQ consumers. Sure, brands may value diversity and want to be inclusive. But marketing to the LGBTQ community is also about making money.
“It’s a market that’s a trillion-dollar consumer base,” said Joanna Schwartz, a professor of marketing at Georgia College & State University who specializes in LGBTQ marketing.
That consumer base is growing as more young Americans identify as LGBTQ. Schwartz said that’s part of why we’ve seen a solid decade of loud corporate support during Pride Month.
“Putting a rainbow on something or donating some money to an LGBT-focused charity has been a way for companies to get an easy win,” Schwartz said.
That is, until transphobia became commonplace in right-wing politics. This Pride Month, Schwartz said, brands are looking to court LGBTQ-consumers and their allies without drawing homophobic and especially transphobic ire that could hurt their bottom lines.
“It is a fine line to walk,” Schwartz said. “You can create that impact around your brand without doing anything that others might perceive as risque or daring.”
Schwartz said not all companies are retreating. For example, Apple is holding steady with a trans-inclusive campaign. But after last year’s backlash, many companies appear to be avoiding trigger points for right-wing outrage.
After suffering a sales hit tied to its 2023 campaign, Target won’t sell Pride apparel for kids in 2024 and will stock only some of its stores with Pride displays and merchandise.
The North Face defended its 2022 and 2023 Pride partnerships with drag queen Pattie Gonia, but hasn’t resumed it. The outdoor brand’s 2024 Pride social media post offers nondescript support.
Skittles has retreated from 2023’s inclusive candy package designs that featured messages like “Black Trans Lives Matter” in favor of a standard, six-color rainbow promotion.
And for the first time since 2020, Calvin Klein’s Pride campaign won’t be headlined by any out trans or nonbinary models. Actors Jeremy Pope and Cara Delevingne front the collection.
None of the companies above responded to interview requests from Marketplace.
Pope and Delevingne “are both queer if you happen to know that,” said TJ Billard, who studies media and transgender politics at Northwestern University. But to the casual viewer, Billard said, the ad might not even come across as supporting Pride.
After a few years of companies hoping to stand out with progressive campaigns, Billard said mass Pride marketing has become quieter, more generic and less political. Meanwhile, algorithms and influencer promotions enable brands to save the edgier stuff for a more targeted audience.
“Whether that’s TikTok or Instagram or whatever, queer people are going to see queer-supportive messages from these companies. It’s everyone else who’s not going to,” Billard said.
They said it’s “concerning” to see companies backing away in the face of anti-LGBTQ sentiment while a wave of conservative legislation seeks to block transgender Americans from accessing health care, public accommodations and legal recognition.
“It’s upsetting to an additional degree because it makes what was already a financial transaction-centered relationship [between corporations and] the queer community into something even more extractive,” Billard said.
Are brands alienating LGBTQ consumers? “Probably,” they said. But many seem to have made a decision: In this political climate, pushing back against homophobia, and especially transphobia, comes at too high a cost.
