The 5 Point Framework for Controversy
How to decide whether taking a stand is worth it for your brand—on an issue by issue basis
👋, I’m Kimberly. I’ve been creating obsession-worthy brands for the past fifteen years. And now, I’m giving away my secrets every week in this newsletter.
In last week’s newsletter, I dove into the most recent survey results and academic research studies on how people react to brands that take “political” stances.
And the differences between the two uncovered a disconnect: people don’t always do as they say when it comes to “voting” with their purchases.
Interestingly, when I posted the newsletter on LinkedIn, it got a lot of positive responses from people who said that they vote with their dollars and want brands to act politically.
“I LOVE when a brand is political!”
“I've definitely made decisions based on companies' stances, or lack thereof.”
“I like brands that are truly alive With their beliefs and values, including political.”
But, when I followed up with many of these commenters and asked them for examples of brands they had explicitly supported by making a purchase because they agreed with their political stance—I got no responses.
This appears to back up the disconnect between the surveys and the research studies: people say they want brands to act politically.
But in practice, a brand taking a controversial political stance is more likely to either make no difference… or to have a negative impact.
You Can’t Always Sit Out
Just because a disconnect between what customers say and do exists doesn’t mean that your brand can necessarily sit back and sit out all controversial discussions.
If the controversy is big enough or directly related to your business, the chances that at least some subset of vocal customers will demand a response are high—especially if it is a timely issue impacting society.
Take the case of RMS Beauty—a line of clean makeup.
On June 1, 2020, a day of peaceful protests against the police killing of George Floyd turned violent. President Trump forced people away from the area surrounding the White House.
On this same day, customers demanded a response from RMS Beauty:
"your black and brown customers are tired, hurting and devastated.”
”We're waiting for you to SHOW UP."
"The silence of @rmsbeauty and other companies at a time like this speaks volumes, doesn't it? Very disappointing."
Two hours later, RMS Beauty answered:
"In all fairness, we did not know there is an expectation date for showing support and our team will be in the office monday 9:00 est. We feel the exact same way as you all do. All love no hate 👍 😍
The tone of this response was clearly way off base for the gravity of the issue and the questions being asked by customers—and it immediately sparked further controversy that got picked up by the media.
Obviously, RMS Beauty was completely unprepared to respond to the serious social issue and did not take the time to properly think through how to respond.
Enter… The 5 Point Framework
Today, every brand needs to be prepared to address both the controversial issues that it may deem important as a brand—and the issues its customers are bringing to the table.
So this week, I’ve developed a 5 Point Framework for Controversial Decision Making based on a combination of decision-making techniques and best brand practices that you can use to help you decide (a) whether your brand should take a stand the next time a contentious issue arises—and (b) how you can respond in a way that’s genuine to your brand.
1 / THE FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION
The first thing you need to determine is how intrinsically important the issue is to your brand.
Look at this through three lenses: Your purpose, your values, and your product.
Is the issue directly related to my brand’s purpose?
Example: If your brand purpose is to create more inclusive products and the issue involves diversity, then the answer is yes.Does it directly align with one of my brand’s values? If yes, how so? And if I don’t respond to this issue, could it be considered a violation of my brand values?
Example: Similarly, if one of your stated brand values is inclusivity, it is directly aligned—and not responding could be a violation.Does it directly impact my product in some way?
Example: Does the issue effect people’s access to your product? Or how your product is made? Or the place where your product is made?
2/ THE DEFINING MOMENT
Nietzche urges people to look at critical choices not simply as culminations of their pasts—but as the first step in shaping their future selves.
You need to look down the road, not only through the rearview mirror.
Ask these questions to determine if responding to a controversial issue has the potential to be a defining moment for your brand.
Is this an issue that will impact my brand’s future actions in a meaningful way?
Do you see responding to this issue as serving the “greater good”?
Do you believe responding to this issue will put you on the right side of history?
Do you see responding to this issue as a valuable opportunity? To do what?
Do you see responding to this issue as a responsibility? To do what?
3/ THE LOVE & HATE ASSESSMENT
The concept of negativity bias suggests that people show a stronger tendency to perceive and process negative stimuli as compared to positive ones.
This helps explain people’s stronger tendency to boycott brands they disagree with rather than “buycott” brands they support.
Responding to any controversial issue puts you in a position where you will have to deal with haters.
What is the best possible thing that can happen if you take this stand?
What is the worst possible thing that can happen if you take this stand?
Are you ok with the possibility of the worst possible thing? Say it out loud.
4/ THE CONTROVERSY SCALES
Some issues are more controversial than others—and exactly how controversial they are can change quickly based on current events or your audience.
Use these questions to determine how controversial the question is across the landscape.
How accepted is the stance by your customers?
Look at what issues are relevant to them and what the opinions are. For brands with broad, heterogenous customer bases with diverse opinions, it can be risky—the boycotters may outweigh the buycotters. For brands with smaller, more homogenous audiences, the chances are likely lower.Is it a liberal or conservative leaning stance?
In the Harvard Business Review study I cited least week, issues that leaned more in a liberal direction (like supporting the environment and social justice) were deemed not so heavily controversial. In fact, the fact that a brand supported these issues made no difference in whether a conservative customer bought from a brand or not. Many of today’s issues that could be described as “liberal” in some respect are viewed as less polarizing, and more of a norm.How negative will you need to go?
Does your stance on the issue require you to actively and vocally oppose something in a “we are fighting against this” sort of way (aka taking an aggressive posture)? Does it require the active removal of a right, which more likely to anger people?
5/ THE ACTION TEST
Taking a stance on a controversial question requires more than just words.
You need to be 100% prepared to go lights, camera, action on what you say you’re supporting. Because if you don’t take action, people will 100% call you out for lip-service, bandwagoning, and posturing.
Here are a few questions you should ask to make sure you’ve thought through your action plan.
How will I practice what I preach—both internally and externally?
What immediate changes will I be making that I can point to? What future changes do I plan to make that I can announce as goals?
How, when, and across which channels will I communicate the stance I’m taking? Will it be a memo from the CEO—or will it make its way into the brand’s advertising?
When you’re creating your action plan, be sure to loop back to your answers to (1) The Fundamental Question—and write down how each of the actions you plan to take directly connects back to your purpose, your values, and your product. If you take the time to connect these dots, your actions will be more genuine and less generic.
Now, Send Me Your Controversial Questions
I hope you find this 5 Point Framework helpful the next time your brand is faced with taking a stand on a controversial issue.
If you use the framework, let me know how it works!
If you have anything you think I should add to the framework, please tell me.
And if your brand is facing a controversial question and you’d like to talk it through, shoot me an email at kimberly@brandsthatgetyou.com so we can schedule some time to chat.