{"id":21266,"date":"2024-06-14T19:26:29","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T19:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=21266"},"modified":"2024-06-14T19:26:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T19:26:29","slug":"corporate-pride-is-quieter-this-year-why-that-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysourcefunding.com\/?p=21266","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Pride is quieter this year. Why that matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If you think corporate participation in Pride Month has felt more subdued this year, it\u2019s not just you.<\/p>\n

Brands that were more outspoken in previous years have been quieter in 2024 around their support of LGBTQ+ causes and customers, which some have suggested could be due to fears stemming from last year\u2019s Bud Light backlash and other targeted, right-wing campaigns against companies supporting LGBTQ+ rights.<\/p>\n

Target, which also faced right-wing backlash over its Pride merch collection last year, scaled back its offerings this year. Skittles, which faced threats of a boycott over its Pride marketing in 2023, is doing a Pride campaign that\u2019s been characterized as more muted than in years past. Kayla Casta\u00f1eda, senior director for crisis and issues communications at Target, shared a statement that the company is \u201ccommitted to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community during Pride Month and year-round;\u201d Skittles did not respond to Marketing Brew\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the merch that\u2019s taking a hit: The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit, has seen a \u201cdecline in corporate giving in the last couple of years,\u201d Kevin Wong, senior VP of marketing, communications, and content, told us. While he noted that \u201cfundraising is generally down for many nonprofits,\u201d he added that in a good year, \u201cless than 1% of philanthropic giving in the US is routed to LGBTQ+ issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

All\u2019s not entirely quiet on the Pride front, however. The Trevor Project is working with brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, OPI, Kate Spade, Lululemon, and Macy\u2019s on Pride-related campaigns this year\u2014some of which, like Macy\u2019s, are part of yearslong partnerships. There are other efforts to support the community that go beyond marketing: American Eagle, for example, released a gender-neutral clothing collection for Pride that will be available year-round<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always uplifted the LGBTQIA+ community and will continue to do so through Pride collections that enable our customers to show their support,\u201d Craig Brommers, CMO of American Eagle, told us in an email, adding that \u201ccelebrating Pride is a natural extension of what we do every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

As right-wing attacks on the LGBTQ+ community escalate, experts told us that loud and visible corporate participation in Pride remains important not just for a company\u2019s image, but also for society at large.<\/p>\n

Be seen<\/h2>\n

Perhaps the biggest reason why corporate allyship matters is LGBTQ+ visibility, Wong told us, particularly as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation may cause young people to question their place in the world. \u201cWhen LGBTQ+ people see themselves reflected in the world\u2026that really enables them and empowers them to live their truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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As part of The Trevor Project\u2019s Pride campaign with Macy\u2019s this year, the retailer is highlighting LGBTQ+-owned, -founded, and -designed brands, as well as showing LGBTQ+ young people\u2019s experiences in a PSA.<\/p>\n

Wong noted the impact of being able to \u201cwalk into a Macy\u2019s store and say, \u2018Wow, I feel like I belong here and my identity and who I am in living my truth is supported.\u2019\u201d He added that using Macy\u2019s platform can also make an impact beyond its shoppers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes a policymaker or someone in a position of power might be introducing legislation around LGBTQ+ identities or people and they don\u2019t actually talk to that community\u2026about how a piece of legislation might impact them,\u201d he said. \u201cUsing real LGBTQ+ young people [in the campaign] is so important in reflecting their experiences back.\u201d<\/p>\n

That reflection is important not just during Pride month, but year-round, Wong said, citing The Trevor Project\u2019s long-term partnerships with Abercrombie & Fitch and the NFL.<\/p>\n

Be loud<\/h2>\n

Brands that shift from outspoken Pride campaigns to a \u201csilent\u201d or \u201csoft sell\u201d may still risk alienating some consumers while also missing out on an opportunity to show the LGBTQ+ community that they\u2019re \u201cdoing something important for them,\u201d Ron Hill, a professor of marketing at American University\u2019s Kogod School of Business, told us.<\/p>\n

Hill attributed muted Pride campaigns this year to a \u201cvalue confusion\u201d among some companies who may want to try to appeal to everyone.<\/p>\n

In recent years, accusations of \u201crainbow-washing\u201d and criticisms of \u201crainbow capitalism\u201d have surfaced, with claims that some brands use Pride as a more surface-level means to appeal to certain consumer sets. But Hill suggested that \u201cit\u2019s better to be wrong to some people and right to other people than to be wrong to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, by not taking a stance on Pride, companies \u201cend up becoming vanilla\u201d and can lose credibility, he said.<\/p>\n

Hill suggested that \u201clonger term, companies need to decide what their overarching values are and to live those values.\u201d If they don\u2019t, he said they risk losing customers on both sides of the aisle, as well as potentially losing relevance, especially given younger generations\u2019 progressive stances on gender and sexuality.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrganizations are a big part of our culture and companies are a big part of organizations,\u201d Hill said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t advocate for what\u2019s right, for the freedoms we think democracy should espouse, then they become part of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you think corporate participation in Pride Month has felt more subdued this year, it\u2019s not just you. Brands that were more outspoken in previous years have been quieter in 2024 around their support of LGBTQ+ causes and customers, which some have suggested could be due to fears stemming from last year\u2019s Bud Light backlash […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"\nCorporate Pride is quieter this year. 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