A few months ago, we set out to conduct a new research project with our partners at The Harris Poll. Going into it, our primary goal was to get a snapshot of the current moment in time and see how both consumers and marketers are adapting to a year that has been unlike any in recent memory.
We’re currently in the process of packaging the report, and will be releasing it later in September, but due to recent events in the news, we have decided to preview some data.
Specifically, we had a section in the research dedicated to the intersection of brands and social justice issues. Since the protests began in May around George Floyd and Black Lives Matter, we have seen social justice issues rise to the forefront of our national dialog, and as we kicked off our latest Harris Poll Research project, we felt that brand engagement around these issues would be an interesting topic to explore.
Should brands be obligated to acknowledge or take a stand for or against social issues? Do consumers want them to?
For this project, we surveyed 1,000 US consumers and 500 marketers in the US, and what we found was very interesting.
In summary, there are many factors for marketers to consider when deciding whether their company should take a position on social issues, and the makeup and expectations of their customers is certainly one to consider. In the end, however, a brand will know best what makes sense for their particular business, and we expect brands to continue evaluating how they will approach these situations going forward given younger generations are increasingly focused on how brands align with their values.
For any questions about the study, or to see the raw data, email comms@openx.com.
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