There’s a fine line between allyship and exploitation, and most corporations toe it during Pride Month.
What’s positioned as support of the long-marginalized LGBTQIA+ community, brands’ show of solidarity are often overtaken by the perils of capitalism “by turning them into markets, selling them back to them as a product, and commodifying pretty much everything about every part of their lives” as Refinery29 points out.
Dr. Marcus Collins, a marketing expert, acknowledges that while companies are getting better at recognizing their sensitivity blindspots, they still have some work to do.
“Brands started to see this is a cultural moment they can tap into,” he tells ESSENCE. “In some cases, there were opportunists and in other cases companies said, ‘We’re late to the party so we’re really going to start dancing. By all means, jump in. But don’t make it performative to such a degree that we’re conquesting. If we treat this as another marketing moment, then we have done a disservice to those who are the topic of the day and we’ve diminished the importance of the matter.”
Collins offered a few pieces of advice to corporate entities aiming to meld their show of support with their bottom line successfully.
Start—but don’t end—with intentionality.
“Look at what they’ve done, what they’re doing today and keep the receipts of what they’re doing tomorrow to hold them accountable. I teach my students the concept of IPO: intention, perspective and outcomes. We can have the best intentions but if our perspective is not representative of a broader perspective, it’s highly unlikely the outcomes will be unfavorable.”
Keep it real.
“These days, we see more women holding hands, or men. It’s not a nod and a wink—we’re here. If nothing else, I think advertising and marketing communicators are getting better at it.”
Give people grace.
“People may not be aware, yet they are willing to take steps forward. If we judge people where they are today, we don’t care about people growing. If you weren’t aware or hip to it and didn’t have empathic muscle at the time, you’ve got to give grace.”
Don’t stop at the end of June.
“For marketers, this can’t be and shouldn’t be a Pride Month where we turn all our profiles to rainbows in June and then peace the LGBTQ community out until next June. If we are as committed as we say in June, then we have to be committed the entire time.”