By Sahil Patel
Tuesday's statement from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc. put the
killing of George Floyd while in police custody in stark terms.
"What happened to George Floyd was not the result of a bad
apple; it was the predictable consequence of a racist and
prejudiced system and culture that has treated Black bodies as the
enemy from the beginning," the ice-cream brand owned by Unilever
PLC said, in part.
But the statement was only part of a wide rush by marketers to
express support for protesters angry about Mr. Floyd's death and,
more broadly, racial inequality. Now the question is what brands
will do beyond sympathize, advocates and others say. And donations
aren't the end of the conversation.
Marketers have corporate social responsibility and diversity
commitments to meet, said Doug Rozen, chief media officer of Dentsu
Inc.-owned ad agency 360i. "But that does not mean your brand needs
to only match those commitments," he said. "Brands need to be more
proactive in the diversity conversation and not just reactive."
The civil-rights group Color of Change has called on Nike Inc.,
which released a video encouraging people to fight racism, and
other companies to go beyond statements and improve the wages and
working conditions of their employees.
"These messages of support mean nothing without taking action to
support their Black employees," spokespeople for Color of Change
said.
Companies say they are trying to do better.
Nike on Friday announced a $40 million commitment over four
years to support organizations focused on social justice, education
and racial inequality in the U.S. In addition, basketball legend
Michael Jordan and Nike subsidiary Jordan Brand said they will
donate $100 million over the next 10 years to those causes.
In a statement, a Nike spokeswoman said the company remains
committed to equal pay across genders and races and ethnicities,
defined as those who "undertake the same work at the same level,
experience and performance." Based on those parameters, the
company's internal data show that for "every $1 earned by white
employees in the U.S., those from under-represented groups earned
$1."
On diverse hiring practices, the apparel giant increased vice
president-level representation for underrepresented groups in the
U.S. by two percentage points, to 21%, in 2019. "While this is good
progress, we know there is more work to do," the spokeswoman
said.
Ben & Jerry's has long spoken up about social issues, and
backed the Black Lives Matter movement before the current
unrest.
Its foundation donated $3 million in 2019 as part of
employee-led grant programs supporting social and environmental
justice in the U.S., the company said. Ben & Jerry's also
devotes 10% to 20% of its annual marketing spending to promote
progressive groups or causes, it said. It ran Facebook ads last
year promoting its Pecan Resist ice cream flavor, for example,
which raises money for advocates including Color of Change.
But the Vermont-based company has its own problem areas,
particularly the lack of diversity in its workforce, said Chris
Miller, global activism manager at Ben & Jerry's.
"We have one black person at corporate headquarters," Mr. Miller
said. "Our demographics, internally, don't look dissimilar to the
community in which it resides."
Ben & Jerry's is undergoing an internal review, which was in
the works prior to the protests, to examine and improve diversity
across the company, its franchise network and supply chain, Mr.
Miller said.
Some other companies said they recognize the need for more than
one-time gestures, even financial ones.
"It's decades of systematic and structural issues that keep the
most disadvantaged and underprivileged people down," said Minjae
Ormes, chief marketing officer at Visible, a prepaid mobile phone
carrier owned by Verizon Communications Inc. "And a problem of that
magnitude requires an equally systematic approach to creating
consistent and enduring impact."
Visible has an ongoing company program called Visible Connect,
through which it donated $400,000 in grants in 2018 and 2019 to
nonprofits that are closing some type of opportunity gap in areas
ranging from early childhood education to mental health, Ms. Ormes
said. One recipient of the program is Good Call NYC, which connects
protestors arrested in New York City with legal resources.
Insurance giant Progressive Corp. has pledged $1 million to the
Equal Justice Initiative in support of the nonprofit's efforts to
end mass incarceration, excessive punishment and racial injustice,
said Tricia Griffith, the company's chief executive.
Progressive's efforts in recent years have also focused on
hiring a more diverse workforce, the company said.
"We must and will do more," Ms. Griffith said.
Brands are more open to conversations and taking action on race
issues, but only a minority of them have pledged contributions,
said Kieley Taylor, global vice president of social at WPP
PLC-owned GroupM. "But it does feel like a tipping point;
advertisers who are being more outspoken in their actions are
[indirectly] helping others feel more comfortable that they can
too," she said.
Brands need to do more than "virtue signaling," said Michael
Natenshon, chief executive of 10-year-old casual clothing company
Marine Layer Inc., which is donating $10,000 to four groups
including the NAACP and the Bail Project, a nonprofit that offers
bail assistance to low-income individuals.
Marine Layer's business was hurt by the closing of retail stores
due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it hopes to contribute more as
business returns, he said.
Marine Layer plans to hire Adaway Group, a black-owned
consultancy, to determine where it falls short in its own hiring
practices; approximately 10% of the company's roughly 275 employees
identify themselves as black or African-American.
"We consider ourselves an equal-opportunity employer, but if we
go about it that way without thinking about race or ethnicity in
that process, then we are being passive," Mr. Natenshon said.
Write to Sahil Patel at sahil.patel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 06, 2020 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.