Thereโs a culยญture war raging for our minds.
Itโs the social justice warยญriยญors versus the popยญuยญlistยญic traยญdiยญtionยญalยญists. They conยญsume much more than their fair share of the online agenda.
Where does this leave the rest of us?
Where does this leave regยญuยญlar businesses?
Letโs dive right into it:
The Just War Theory
Todayโs culยญture war is a jus belยญlum justum (a just war) for our morยญal values.
The just war theยญory dicยญtates that โ[โฆ ] war, while terยญrible (but less so with the right conยญduct), is not always the worst option. Important responsยญibยญilยญitยญies, undesirยญable outยญcomes, or preยญventยญable atroยญcitยญies may jusยญtiยญfy war.โ 1Just war theยญory. (2023, November 14). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โJโuโsโtโ_โwโaโrโ_โtโhโeโory
And this culยญture war is spelling devยญastยญatยญing conยญsequences for busiยญnesses worldยญwide. Wokeness. Populism. De-platยญformยญing. Cancel culยญture. Political corยญrectยญness. Bot attacks. Free speech infringeยญments. Coรถrdinated troll attacks. Reputation destruction.
Businesses are tryยญing to rise to the chalยญlenge, but how?
To start, we need to underยญstand this polarยญised media landscape.
The Publics of the Culture War
So, how should your busiยญness navยญigยญate this inflamยญmatยญory culยญture war?
We can identiยญfy three critยญicยญal online pubยญlics based on how they comยญmuยญnicยญate their underยญlyยญing morยญal philoยญsophy. And they use the interยญnet as their primary tool for organยญising themยญselves and exertยญing morยญal extortion.
Social Justice Warriors will not accept any perยญceived โinjustice.โ They regard themยญselves as morยญally superยญiยญor and see all opponยญents as immeยญdiยญate threats to their conยญvicยญtions. According to this pubยญlic, online aggresยญsion is an approยญpriยญate politยญicยญal expresยญsion (if perยญpetยญrated by themยญselves).
Read also: Cancel CultureโโโA Serious PR Problem
Populistic Traditionalists see โcomยญmon senseโ derived from genยญerยญaยญtions of empirยญicยญal morยญal insights to trump all othยญer forms of disยญcernยญment. They celยญebยญrate homoยญgenยญeity and patยญriยญotยญism and are often reliยญgious. According to this pubยญlic, online aggresยญsion is a propยญer politยญicยญal expresยญsion (if perยญpetยญrated by themยญselves).
Read also: How To Fight Populism
The Silent Majority are modยญerยญately invesยญted in morยญal philoยญsophy; they are more focused on makยญing ends meet in their perยญsonยญal lives. They avoid takยญing any such aggressยญive standsโโโat least pubยญlicly. However, they conยญtinuยญally โvoteโ online by clickยญing, watchยญing, readยญing, and listenยญing.
Read also: The Spiral of Silence
How should a brand navยญigยญate this culยญture war?
Either pick a side and stick with itโโโor steer clear?
The Art of Online Grandstanding
For any brand strugยญgling with envirยญonยญmentยญal, social, and govยญernance (ESG) issues, itโs temptยญing to try and score quick points with short-lived pubยญlic โoutยญrages.โ
Businesses that pose as beacons for morยญal modยญelยญling could gain tracยญtion with the chosen minority.
But does grandยญstandยญing make busiยญness sense?
From a pubยญlic relaยญtions perยญspectยญive, conยญflicts such as these could fuel media attenยญtion, but itโs far from evidยญent that these brands will increase their marยญket shares; the share-of-voice for the loudest agitยญatยญors is rarely proยญporยญtionยญal to their actuยญal numbers.
Gillette: The Toxic-Masculinity Misfire
A recent example would be Gilletteโs camยญpaign, which attacked its cusยญtomยญer base with accusยญaยญtions of not being accountยญable enough for toxยญic masculinity.
Of course, it backยญfired.
Perhaps also affectยญing stock prices immediately.
โThat raises the quesยญtion of whethยญer Gilletteโs finยญanยญcial resยญults are sufยญferยญing because of its toxยญic-masยญculinยญity misยญfire. On Tuesday, Procter & Gamble (PG) beat earnยญings and revยญenยญue foreยญcasts, but the stock fell 3% on a day the S&P 500 closed at a new high.โ
โDonโt Blame My Toxic Masculinity for Gilletteโs Woes by Jack Hough, Barronโs
In short:
Most brands will likely do betยญter if they realยญise that itโs not their core busiยญness to teach grown-ups about what conยญstiยญtutes morยญal behaviour.
Few ordinยญary busiยญnesses are suited to serve as mouthยญpieces for hunยญdredsโโโor even thouยญsandsโโโof coworkยญers. Or cusยญtomยญers, someยญtimes in their millions.
Like me, you probยญably have your morยญal conยญvicยญtions, but these conยญvicยญtions arenโt necesยญsarยญily the right baseline for all corยญporยญate comยญmuยญnicยญaยญtions activities.
Moral Conformity and HR
Brands must stand for someยญthing and be brave enough to see these fights through. A brand must find its core mesยญsage, which must resยญonยญate with ownยญers, leadยญers, coworkยญers, and customers.
But the culยญture war isnโt just a PR chalยญlenge; the foundยญaยญtion for long-term straยญtegic sucยญcess in manยญaging the organยญisaยญtionยญal culยญture befalls HR, too.
HR is being encourยญaged to hire and fire with diversity in mind. But when it comes to morยญal conยญvicยญtions, diversity of thought sudยญdenly becomes the numยญber one enemy of the HR department.
Today, HR must decide whethยญer to hire or fire based on conยญflictยญing morยญal standยญards. You must look difยญferยญent, but simยญulยญtanยญeously lack the trait of thinkยญing differently.
Finding coworkยญers that fit morยญal double standยญardsโโโwhile being a comยญpetยญent, indeยญpendยญent thinker at the same timeโโโis an impossible HR strategy.
How To Navigate Cancel Culture
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Cancel Culture and Social Media
โCancel culยญture on social media is a form of pubยญlic shamยญing that aims to difยญfuse pubยญlic disยญcourse and proยญmote tolยญerยญance, but can also be viewed as a form of intolยญerยญance against opposยญing views.โ
Source: Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities 2Velasco, J. (2020). You are Cancelled: Virtual Collective Consciousness and the Emergence of Cancel Culture as Ideological Purging. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 12. โฆ Continue readยญing
Cancel culยญture, de-platยญformยญing, and woke journยญalยญism are becomยญing chalยญlenยญging PR problems:
โCancel culยญture or call-out culยญture is a phrase conยญtemยญporยญary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a form of ostraยญcism in which someone is thrust out of social or proยญfesยญsionยญal circlesโโโwhethยญer it be online, on social media, or in perยญson. Those subยญject to this ostraยญcism are said to have been โcanยญcelledโ.โ
Source: Wikipedia 3Cancel culยญture. (2023, January 4). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โCโaโnโcโeโlโ_โcโuโlโtโure
Public opinยญion often forces brands to de-platยญform indiยญviduยญals, partยญner organยญisaยญtions, advertยญisers, colยญlabยญorยญatยญors, etc.
โDeplatforming, also known as no-platยญformยญing, has been defined as an โattempt to boyยญcott a group or indiยญviduยญal through removยญing the platยญforms (such as speakยญing venยญues or webยญsites) used to share informยญaยญtion or ideas, or โthe action or pracยญtice of preยญventยญing someone holdยญing views regarded as unacยญceptยญable or offensยญive from conยญtribยญutยญing to a forยญum or debate, espeยญcially by blockยญing them on a parยญticยญuยญlar webยญsiteโ.โ
Source: Wikipedia 4Deplatforming. (2023, January 8). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โDโeโpโlโaโtโfโoโrโmโing
Hereโs how to navยญigยญate the morยญal war as a business:
Learn more: How To Navigate Cancel Culture
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Thank you. Please supยญport my blog by sharยญing artยญicles with othยญer comยญmuยญnicยญaยญtions- and marยญketยญing proยญfesยญsionยญals. Please also conยญsider my PR serยญvices or speakยญing engageยญments.
PR Resource: The High Road Tonality
The Stoic Tonality
An organยญisaยญtion is the polyยญphonยญic sum of all its coworkยญers. Imagine extractยญing each coworkยญerยญโs most virยญtuยญous and mature traits and comยญbinยญing them into one voiceโโโthe Stoic tonality.
Stoic Tonality Examples
โWhy doesยญnโt your brand speak out against indusยญtriยญal overยญfishยญing killing our oceans?โ
โAs a comยญpany that sells fishยญing gear, we want our oceansโโโand all animยญals and plants livยญing in them!โโโto be healthy and plenยญtiยญful. We, too, were disยญturbed by the recent news of overยญfishยญing. How could anyยญone not be? We now ask ourselves, how can our comยญpany make more of a difยญferยญence? Honestly, weโre disยญcussยญing our strategy for susยญtainยญabยญilยญity every day. I canยญnot say how or when we might take speยญcifยญic action regardยญing this latest news, but rest assured that weโre takยญing the genยญerยญal issue of savยญing our oceans seriously.โ
โWhy doesยญnโt your brand engage in Black Lives Matter?โ
โAs for right now, weโre listenยญing. Weโre listenยญing to the storยญies being told. Weโre listenยญing to underยญstand betยญter how we can learn and grow as a comยญpany. As for inclusยญiveยญness and human rights in genยญerยญal, we think weโre doing a great job, and part of that is to stay open and careยญfully listen to peopleโs storยญies. We might take speยญcifยญic actions, but weโre listenยญing and learning.โ
โWhy doesยญnโt your brand join our protests against toxยญic masยญculinยญity and the patยญriยญarchy?โ
โHonestly, weโre a product comยญpany. We make products for anyยญone who likes them. And I dare say that weโre experts in makยญing these products. However, weโre not experts on ideoยญloยญgies or sociยญetยญal strucยญtures. So, for now, we listen. And we conยญtinยญue to focus on makยญing the best products that we can. For everyยญone. We believe thatโs our best way of conยญtribยญutยญing at this point.โ
โWhy doesยญnโt your brand sign our petiยญtion to boyยญcott all comยญpanยญies on our Environmental Black List?โ
โAs a comยญpany, we operยญate difยญferยญently. Instead of signยญing petiยญtions or parยญtiยญcipยญatยญing in othยญer pubยญlic demonยญstraยญtions, we take action withยญin our sphere of influยญence. And I dare say that our many envirยญonยญmentยญal iniยญtiยญatยญives are makยญing a lot of difยญferยญence worldยญwide relยญatยญive to our size and reach. If we were to sign your petiยญtion, we would first have to use our resources to research the legitยญimยญacy of its creยญatยญors and then make sure that none of the comยญpanยญies on that list is being wrongยญfully accused. While it would be posยญsible, weโve decided that we can do more good by dirยญectยญing our resources to where we can make the most difference.โ
โWhy doesยญnโt your comยญpany act against your female employยญees who take time off for aborยญtions?โ
โAll our employยญees are grown-ups, and what they do on their own time is frankly none of our busiยญness. Weโre a large comยญpany, and we have employยญees who are pro-life and pro-choice. We believe we have a workยญplace where people can have difยญferยญent opinยญions but still respect each othยญer and work well together.โ
โWhy hasยญnโt your comยญpany offered your thoughts and prayยญers for the vicยญtims and their famยญilยญies of the school shootยญing?โ
โThe vicยญtims and their famยญilยญies have our empathยญies, of course. I speak for everyยญone workยญing at our comยญpany when I say we were devยญastยญated by the news as everyยญone else. But youโre right that we havenโt posยญted any status updates about the shootยญing on our Facebook page. Itโs not that we donโt care (we do!), itโs just that we focus our updates on our products and serยญvices and how they make a posยญitยญive difยญferยญence in the world.โ
Learn more: The Stoic Tonality: Rise Above With Integrity
Annotations
1 | Just war theยญory. (2023, November 14). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โJโuโsโtโ_โwโaโrโ_โtโhโeโory |
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2 | Velasco, J. (2020). You are Cancelled: Virtual Collective Consciousness and the Emergence of Cancel Culture as Ideological Purging. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 12. https://โdoiโ.org/โ1โ0โ.โ2โ1โ6โ5โ9โ/โrโuโpโkโaโtโhโaโ.โvโ1โ2โnโ5โ.โrโiโoโcโ1โsโ2โ1n2 |
3 | Cancel culยญture. (2023, January 4). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โCโaโnโcโeโlโ_โcโuโlโtโure |
4 | Deplatforming. (2023, January 8). In Wikipedia. https://โenโ.wikiโpeโdiaโ.org/โwโiโkโiโ/โDโeโpโlโaโtโfโoโrโmโing |