Preview: Should Brands Take a Stand? w/Kimberly A. Whitler

In Season 1, Episode 6, of Opinion Party, hosts Laura Jones and Jason Gaikowski engage in a deep discussion about whether brands should take a stand on social issues. They explore the data behind brand loyalty, the complexities of consumer reactions to activism, and the role of CEOs in navigating these challenges. Professor Kimberly Whitler joins the conversation, sharing her insights on the impact of marketing on corporate governance and the importance of authenticity in brand activism. The episode concludes with best practices for marketers and the significance of understanding consumer perspectives.

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CREDITS:
Hosts: Laura Jones and Jason Gaikowski
Executive Producer: Mark Richardson
Editor: Gabriel Montoya
Spiritual, Menu, and Technical Advisor: Ketzirah Lesser
Research: Aly Ryan

Episode Transcript

Laura Jones (00:02):
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Opinion Party.
I'm your co host, Laura Jones.

Jason Gaikowski (00:06):
I'm Jason Gaikowski.

Laura Jones (00:08):
And today, we've got a really feisty one, I
think, what's shaping up to be.Our topic today is should brands
take a stand? Welcome to theparty, Kim Whitler.

Kimberly A. Whitler (00:19):
Thank you. I am Laura, I'm just so honored
to be here because I have to sayas a big fan of the data that
you all produce and as consumerof it, it seems like more often
than not, I'm quoting you guysin a lot of my research. It's
it's just exciting to be heretoday to talk about such an
important topic. What I findinteresting is that the notion

(00:40):
of social injustice, that's nota liberal or conservative issue.
That is largely unified.
There's nobody who will verballygo out and argue for social
injustice. Right? It's like who,like I worked at PetSmart. We
had PetSmart charities. Our goalone of one of our big activist
efforts was to save the lives ofcats and dogs.

(01:02):
Who's against that? Nobody. WhatI do is I walk into class, and I
wear a sign around my neck. Hugesign. Like, you know, the the
people who stand out on thecorner with these crazy signs,
and it says, I care deeply aboutstudents.
I go through the whole class. Idon't say a word. The whole
class. I'm just promoting what agood person I am because I care

(01:23):
deeply about you. Right?
We go through the whole class.And so we get to that. Said, I
wanna come back to the sign.When you and I want you to be
honest. When you saw this sign,first of all, how do you know if
I care deeply about you?
Because I wore this sign? Isthat how you know? And they they
go, no. No. It's what you do.

(01:45):
Oh, it's what I actually doexposes what where my values are
and my beliefs, not if I'mrunning a TV ad.

Jason Gaikowski (01:53):
Right. So I think there's I think there's
something really important thatwhen you take a stand, it is not
a marketing stunt. And it istrue to the commitments that you
are making of capital, socialcapital, intellectual capital to
how you operate as a business.

Laura Jones (02:13):
I'm gonna bring up your book really quickly,
Positioning for Advantage. Kim'swritten a book here, Techniques
and Strategies to Grow BrandValue. Thank you very much for
including BAV as part of youroverview of methodology. What
are the one or two core tenetsof this book that every marketer
should take away?

Kimberly A. Whitler (02:33):
And so what I set out to do was to create a
book that I call bridging thetheory doing gap that we have
these nice frameworks, but howdo we connect that to practice?

Laura Jones (02:42):
Should brands take a stand? I think we had a really
interesting debate. I think welanded on it depends. But Kim,
thanks so much for joining us onopinion party today.