Authenticity is becoming important for brands but maintaining it won’t be easy

Nike recently caused many eyebrows to go up and raised the hackles of even more loyalists in the USA (and elsewhere), by choosing Colin Kaepernick to front its latest campaign marking 30 years of “Just Do It”. If you are wondering why, here’s the back-story in brief. In 2016, Kaepernick (then the frontline quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers) chose to kneel rather than stand when the US national anthem was played before the start of NFL games. He did so to protest racially-motivated police brutality (referring to instances of unarmed black youth being beaten or shot by white cops). This did not go down too well, with many people labeling his actions as disrespectful of the national anthem and hence, unpatriotic. Kaepernick was dropped from the team (he is still a free agent, not part of any NFL team), causing him to file a grievance against the NFL.

“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything”, screams Nike’s campaign on its Twitter handle #JustDoIt. With Kaepernick’s actions still fresh in public memory, Nike’s decision to launch its campaign at the start of another NFL season was… what? Brave? Foolhardy? Brilliant? There has been widespread reaction to the campaign, with many people taking to social media to vent their ire at Nike. Videos of people burning Nike sneakers or tearing other Nike products have gone viral. Many have sworn never to buy Nike products again. But there has been a groundswell of support for Colin Kaepernick as well.

Nike’s choice of brand ambassador reinforces the personality traits of free-spiritedness bordering on irreverence that the brand has stood for (I wonder if Serena Williams’ outburst against an umpire during the recent US Open finals would also be seen by some in similar light). Nike’s stock price took a sharp hit, but is back again to where it was before the launch of the campaign- which means pundits don’t see this episode as having adverse consequences for the company’s financial performance. It is hard to predict how Nike will do in the months and years ahead and whether its choice of Kaepernick will eventually go down in the annals of history as a massive mistake or brilliant branding. But irrespective of how this eventually plays out, marketers will do well to take note of the underlying shifts in consumer behavior.

People (especially those who control significant discretionary spends) around the world are increasingly seen to be driven by concern for societal issues. Studies show that their brand preferences too are being shaped by what stands brands take on such issues- particularly on matters dear to the individual. Two lessons emerge for marketers and brand managers. The first is that they must be more willing to take stands on societal issues. The second is that brands must be authentic vis-a-vis the causes they espouse. Especially now, because the reach, speed and performative impact of social media enables news to travel fast- and bad news travels faster. The challenge of remaining authentic will be particularly tough for global brands that source from multiple countries and sell in diverse markets because specific societal issues will have varying degrees of relevance in different countries. If Nike supports racial equality in the US, it must be seen to be consistent everywhere it operates. This means it cannot source from locations where the cost advantage accrues mainly because of exploitative practices.

Will taking a stand upset some customers? Without a doubt! But as the old saying goes, “you can’t please everyone all the time”! Segmentation and positioning will start to take on a whole new meaning for brands, just as “customer loyalty” can no longer be taken for granted based on product quality, price, features or variants.