Restoring LGBTQ+ Brand Trust Is a Journey Built on Actions, Not Parades

Editor’s note: This piece is part of a series with Graham Nolan on the ways marketers can commit to LGBTQ+ allyship and rethink visibility, support and inclusion in the workplace. Years ago, we were seeing cancel culture come out of the oven and served piping hot to brands. The world provided the perfect recipe for it to rise: Start with a gallon of intentional (or negligent) social inequality; add a cup of digitally ushered transparency; mix in a dash of corporate political engagement; then bake with the heat of rising social tension. Ta-da! Cancellation is served! Cancel culture is different for a profit-generating organization than it is for a person. For brands, it usually entails a concerted consumer effort to push for corporate accountability through divesting in brands that don’t invest in people. Now, I find it even more interesting to live in a more nuanced, post-cancel culture era. That’s not to say cancel culture is over; it is evolving and has a place in a more accountable world. 4 Things 2020 Taught Us About Cancel Culture (and What to Do About It) Disney almost feels too big to cancel, but looking at recent events demonstrates the real strategic and ethical challenges of post-cancellation redemptions: Disney backs down on Don’t Say Gay support, and Pixar staff reveals Disney silences queer stories? “Boooo! Cancel!”Disney issues a flimsy apology and pledges money that HRC won’t accept? “Let the cancel continue!“Disney takes corrective action with dollars and education? “Oh wait. Did we cancel too soon?”Disney comes under fire from DeSantis? “Wait … am I defending Disney?” Disney restores a queer Lightyear kiss and delivers a very gay Thor movie. “We remember why we canceled, and that’s still valid, but … what now?” As consumers enter an unprecedented era where they expect and demand brand integrity and consider their options to un-cancel (reinstate?), brands are remembering an important lesson in a new light: Trust is earned and can be restored. The LGBTQ+ community provides a powerful vantage point from which to see the way forward in this era. So, from that perspective, how do you rebuild trust? Deliver clarity on your position No one wants to feel perplexed about a brand they support. Confusion provides the root of distrust. Brands have always won through clarity and, in a world demanding clarity around purpose, Netflix, for example, is in a bind. Yay for Disclosure! Yay for Stand Out! But on the same platform, we still have Dave Chappelle’s anti-trans jokes, punching down as lives are in danger. And Netflix’s statement to employees basically said: If we can’t make a full range of content, you don’t belong here. This creates ambiguity around what Netflix stands for. Is the focus a full range of speech, including damaging, abusive speech? If they could admit to preserving that sort of rhetoric, at least we’d have clarity. Netflix can put out 100 more LGBTQ+ comedy specials tomorrow, and they might, but until the Chappelle stuff is shut down with a statement on why, LGBTQ+ people won’t have clarity and couldn’t possibly trust them. ACLU’s Vibrant Campaign Emphasizes That There’s More to Trans Identity Than Gender Manifest commitment to community Disney demonstrated an important lesson: Words are simply not enough. Trust has been reconsidered based on action and more so, action in the face of opposition and backlash. I worked at Grey when they unleashed a now-famous spot questioning whether the current state of societal masculinity was truly the best a man gets. And one of my favorite elements of the creative was a visual where a child ran through an old Gillette ad to escape toward safety. The symbolism is not subtle. The brand ran through that controversy toward a more committed position to change, wherein they spotlighted the first shave experience of a trans man. That one-two punch, “We should question our message,” followed by “We’re advancing new and inclusive stories” felt like an unmistakable commitment to earning trust for a new world. Advance with purpose-led strategy So you’ve provided clarity on where you stand, and you’ve delivered commitment over rhetoric. And I’m going to optimistically assume you did this well because you actually listened to the community? Awesome. Welcome to square one. You’re now in a position where you’ve built or rebuilt a basic foundation for trust. But the kind of trust that’s going to lead to ongoing engagement, belief, connection and spend? That’s the work ahead. And it’s made possible by building purpose into your very brand strategy. New data we’ve discerned with CX platform Disqo shows that when asked whether companies or brands should get involved in social issues such as DEI, racial equality, gender equality and social economics, 74% of respondents said they should. That’s the vast majority of the consumer population telling you to build for a new world with new rules. That’s not just a new marketing strategy; it’s a new business strategy, which should guide new purposeful innovation. Remember: Based on U.S. Census data, the HRC estimates that at least 20 million U.S. adults could be LGBTQ+. This 8% of the adult population is the fastest-growing minority segment with an estimated $1.4 trillion in annual spending. Remember: Based on U.S. Census data, the HRC estimates that at least 20 million U.S. adults could be LGBTQ+. This 8% of the adult population is the fastest growing minority segment with an estimated $1.4 trillion in annual spending. Seeing is increasingly the only route to believing. Trust will drive your revenue. And brands are a promise. Live up to yours. LGBTQ+: Do Our Letters Spell Out a Shared Language in Adland?