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It isn’t the term “woke” that cost Target and Bud Light a bunch of money in 2023: It was those brands’ failure to stand by their commitments to social causes.
At the Association of National Advertisers’ (ANA) Masters of Marketing conference in Orlando, Florida today, its Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) released the results of a survey of more than 9,000 consumers conducted with the Cultural Inclusion Accelerator looking at perceptions of inclusive marketing practices.
As it turns out, when a brand backs away from its commitments to groups and causes—as Bud Light did with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney and Target did with its Pride merchandise—77% of shoppers would immediately stop buying that brand’s products or find another brand more aligned with their values.
More importantly, 76% won’t come back unless a brand changes its practices. That’s the same percentage of shoppers who are comfortable with representation and culture in brand marketing.
According to Lisette Arsuaga, co-founder of AIMM, the study came about after CMOs within AIMM expressed concerns about their social causes and worries about being the next brand targeted by protests. The group commissioned the survey and weighted it against Census results to get a clear picture of what consumers actually expect from brands and their marketers. Fear wasn’t on their wish list—nor was the silence brands offered in the face of backlash.
“The first thing we want marketers to understand is, you’re better off moving forward than stepping back, and you’re better off speaking up than staying silent,” Arsuaga said. “So let’s stop being silent and let’s stop being fearful of stepping forward.”
While “go woke, go broke” certainly rhymes, it doesn’t have any bearing on reality among those who know what the term actually means. The report found that for every consumer who knows the true meaning of woke and won’t support the brand because of it, there are two others who’d support the brand.
Meanwhile, for every consumer that would reward a company for caving to backlash like that faced by Bud Light and Target, another four to five consumers would reward brands for standing by their commitments despite criticism. Only 23% keep buying from brands that backed away from social causes.
“As brands are under a watchful eye, it’s important now more than ever to have a pulse on where consumers stand when it comes to a brand’s representation of diverse consumer segments,” said Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA.