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Brain Circuits
Walk, don’t talk: How to survive culture wars
Global brands expert Philip Thomas suggests simple ways for businesses to walk the tightrope between buzz and backlash in today’s divisive cultural and political landscape.
Rein it in
Rein in purpose-related messages about your products and services. For example, When Hein Schumacher took over as Unilever CEO in 2023, he announced that the company would stop “force-fitting” purpose across its entire brand. So, how do you talk about diversity and inclusion or the impact of digital disruption on the human experience? The short answer is just don’t go there – or proceed with the utmost caution.
Double down on product strengths
Likewise, in 2023, Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Mark Pritchard announced that he believed the company had overdone the purpose-led work in the past and instead would be doubling down on product strength and superiority. So, if you’re making cleaning products, don’t peddle messages about the environment or gender equality: talk instead about how well your product cleans the floor.
Make strategy king
The first pillar of the creative process, strategy is about building absolute clarity on who your brand is for. Instead of going all out on one side of the cultural divide over the other, put guardrails in place around the brand and target consumer and the kind of messages you want to share about both.
Stay curious
Whether it’s changing consumer habits, partisanship or digital disruption, leaders need to make sense of so much that’s “out there”. Curiosity must be a core leadership trait for CEOs and their senior leadership teams: the more eyes you have on the future, the better.
Be open
Whether it’s emerging client needs, new ways to engage with customers, or finding better ways to deploy AI, CEOs and CMOs must be open to opportunities and ready to pivot as things change. That goes for everything from your decision-making to your leadership style to your business model.
Have a plan
As GenAI takes over more of the “grunt” work in the brand-customer interface, the challenge will be to figure out what we can bring as human beings that keeps things special. That is where the opportunities are going to be, so it’s critical to have a sense of how disruption might impact your business and how you will adapt
Key takeaways
Reining in your messages, focusing on the products and services, and prioritizing strategy above all are critical guardrails that will help keep your brand on track in these choppy times. By all means do the diversity and inclusion and sustainability work if it matters to your business: just don’t talk about it.
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