Advertising Age published a perspective cautioning
brands targeting Latino consumers to not ignore how ICE impacts lives in the
segment. In short, the author thinks brands should avoid staying silent and
playing it safe when communities face pressures.
It’s a debatable
proposition, as brands don’t necessarily benefit from taking political stances.
Indeed, there are many examples of classic fails when brands publicly advocated
for causes.
Sure, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu declared, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have
chosen the side of the oppressor.”
But such
leaders didn’t have to contend with brand destructors like President Donald J. Trump, the Gaslighter-in-Chief behind ICE.
Brand
silence is not necessarily siding with oppressors. Rather, it can be a sign of
respect, in terms of standing clear of situations where brands have no
business, so to speak.
Why brand
silence isn’t a safe strategy when communities are under pressure
By God-is
Rivera
Every major
brand briefing seems to start the same way lately: Hispanic and Latinx
consumers are our fastest-growing segment. The data backs it up.
Nielsen reports
that Hispanic households represent about 14.7% of U.S. households but account
for 15% of total consumer spending and 23% of U.S. dollar growth in retail.
Their impact is outsized relative to their population size.
But there’s a
glaring disconnect between how aggressively brands are pursuing Hispanic
consumers and how little they’re acknowledging the lived reality of that
community.
Today, families
are navigating fear and instability due to ICE. Cultural identity is being
politicized. People are making daily decisions about where to shop, travel,
work, or even leave their homes under conditions many marketers have chosen to
treat as “off-limits” for brand engagement.
You cannot
build sustainable growth with a community you refuse to fully see. Here’s how
to back your brand with values that resonate:
Growth
without context is not a strategy
When brands say
Hispanic consumers are their growth engine while ignoring the pressures shaping
their lives, it reveals a dangerous assumption that purchasing power is
disconnected from lived experience.
Everyone knows
the meme-able Jet2holidays audio that became synonymous with travel fails. The
brand got in on the joke and leaned in appropriately, engaging with the moment
and expanding cultural relevance well beyond its traditional audience.
But when the
same audio was later used in content depicting immigration enforcement and
detainees being transported, Jet2Holidays was abruptly pulled into a far more
serious conversation. They were prepared. The company responded quickly,
publicly distancing itself from the usage.
Brands that
pursue growth without understanding how cultural meaning travels, especially in
volatile moments, leave themselves vulnerable to being defined by contexts they
didn’t plan for. And if they don’t respond to the situation in a timely manner,
or ignore it, it can be a recipe for brand-building disaster.
Silence is
being mistaken for brand safety
Many marketers
believe the safest move right now is to stand still. Say nothing. Delay
campaigns. Shelve anything that might be perceived as risky.
But recent
examples suggest the opposite.
After facing
intense backlash over Pride-related merchandise, Target scaled back displays in
certain markets, framing the decision as a move to protect employee and
customer safety. The reaction among many consumers—particularly younger and
multicultural audiences—was swift. For some, the pullback signaled retreat
rather than protection. Boycotts and social media protests have cost the
retailer.
When brands
retreat entirely, consumers are far less charitable than brands expect.
Hispanic
consumers are also more likely to research corporate policies and participate
in boycotts based on a brand’s stance, with 51% participating in at least one
boycott according to a study by Numerator.
Your
fastest-growing consumer is also your most attuned
Hispanic
consumers are deeply attuned to brand values. Further research from Numerator
shows 60% of Hispanic shoppers say they would stop buying from brands that
don’t reflect their values.
Nike has long
understood that growth with multicultural audiences requires consistency in
beliefs. When the brand has taken public positions aligned with its stated
values, it has weathered backlash while maintaining long-term loyalty,
particularly among younger, diverse consumers. While not every move has been
universally praised, Nike’s audience understands what the brand stands for.
That matters
deeply to Hispanic consumers. These audiences don’t expect brands to speak on
everything. They expect them not to disappear when values are tested.
This moment
requires cultural readiness, not crisis comms
Too many brands
are still relying on outdated crisis playbooks. What’s required now is cultural
readiness. Your brand needs to understand communities before moments erupt, to
know which voices matter, and to make decisions anchored in real values.
From its
response to global refugee crises to its clear stance against discrimination on
the platform, Airbnb has invested in systems, policies, and partnerships that
allow it to act quickly when cultural moments arise. These decisions were
enabled by groundwork laid well before public pressure mounted.
Companies that
have invested in this kind of readiness move differently. They respond with
clarity because they’ve already done the work of understanding who they are and
who they serve. But readiness doesn’t always have to be defensive. It can
recognize moments of positive cultural momentum, such as HRC’s #LoveWins, and
grow by showing up in ways that feel timely.
Growth is a
relationship, not an extraction model
The Hispanic
and Latinx community represents an enormous opportunity, but opportunity is not
a one-way transaction. Growth without care is not growth. The brands that will
win the future are not the ones that waited for the moment to pass.
They recognized
a simple truth: When the community is under pressure, business as usual no
longer works.
God-is
Rivera is chief strategy officer at Burrell Communications Group
