Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | October 26, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 7 We avoid displaying political preferences at our business F L AS H P O L L Do you publicly display your political preferences at your company? As the presidential election approaches, America is becoming more divided, particularly around politics and matters of social justice. Like all people, business owners, executives and their employees might feel compelled to take a stand and even display their preferences at their companies, with -- for example -- signs for Donald Trump or Joe Biden, or for the Black Lives Matter movement or signs supporting police departments. In doing so, business owners and executives risk alienating their employees and customers whose beliefs may not align with their own. When polled online, nearly nine out of 10 WBJ readers said they don't put their political preferences on display at work. No, we don't want to alienate customers or employees. 45% Yes, these issues are too important to stay silent. 8% exselad.com KATE ALEXANDER, YOU ARE THE PEANUT BUTTER TO OUR JELLY. CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING NAMED AN OUTSTANDING WOMAN IN BUSINESS. 6% No, because it isn't a business' position to get involved. 41% Yes, because it aligns with our values as an organization. of respecting who your employees are and what they value, and how that correlates with the messaging a brand projects. "For those that it's applicable for political causes, we recommend that they don't take a position because businesses and organizations are comprised of individuals," Pagano said. "And each of those individuals has the right to their own political view, which should be respected." Social issues vs. political issues Although many social issues carry a political connotation, especially in 2020, the four marketing professionals interviewed for this story broadly agreed endorsing a social cause is a much safer business decision than endorsing a political one, especially if that social issue is related to the sector a company works within. "We always say it depends," Pagano said. "We recommend getting involved if the social issue is related to the mission and the values of the brand." For example, she said, if you're an athletic and apparel company like Patagonia, a major brand known for its corporate social responsibility work, it could make sense to align yourself with causes like healthy eating, fighting childhood obesity, exercise or anything related to sustainability. "On social causes, there is a much clearer pathway ... But where things have become so divisive, particularly on the national level of politics, we're finding that our clients have been more cautious, and again, we wouldn't advise them to take a position on that to begin with," Pagano said. With some issues, however, the social aspect has become inherently political, and that can make things a bit more complicated. "My philosophy is that I don't have any desire to put a political stance on our website or in my email or anything like that, but I do believe that business leaders have a responsibility to the communities that they're in, whether there's a local community or a worldwide community like ours, to take a stand on social justice," said Steven Schuster, CEO of Rainier Communications, in Westborough. Rainier said when Black Lives Matter picked up steam, for example, he put together a YouTube video, blog post and unique email signature signalling his support for the movement. He posted a sticker outside of Rainier headquarters reading "All are welcome here." While it may be difficult to separate politics from social justice movements, he said, sometimes businesses have an ethical obligation to signal support. "ose are basic human social justice issues that I think it's not only okay, but is incumbent upon business leaders to embrace," Schuster said. Be authentic Once a brand has considered their target audience, analyzed whether a movement or political persuasion is aligned with their mission and values, and accepted that they may well lose support from customers that don't support them, there's one more key question to answer: Is this alignment Michael Donovan, chief strategist and creative director at Metaphor authentic? In other words, can a company walk the walk? "e last thing you want to do is find out that, for example, if your company or organization wants to speak out about climate change, that there's not something working against that message internally," McManus said. Although authenticity has become a bit of a marketing buzzword as companies strive to connect with their customer base on increasingly intimate levels, when it comes to aligning a company with a cause, it's a fairly straightforward concept. "Just be genuine, be consistent and be careful," he said. Donovan echoed similar advice, cautioning companies from taking advantage of a hot-button issue just to gain traction on social media. "It can backfire on you, well intentioned as it is, to jump on the latest news cycle," Donovan said. When it comes to making statements, he pointed to age old advice: "Tread carefully." W

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