It’s tough to be a CEO these days.
Seemingly any words you speak, or actions you take, can become social media fodder soon followed by calls for a boycott of your business.
Goya Foods, a large Hispanic-owned food company, is the latest brand in the boycott spotlight after its CEO Bob Unanue gave plaudits to President Donald Trump at a White House event on Thursday.
Critics of the president, notably numerous Hispanic leaders, were angered by Unanue’s support for Trump due to the administration’s often tough anti-immigration stance. Boycott calls started within hours of the CEO’s words.
Yes, it’s hard to keep up what we’re supposed NOT to buy, use or watch depending on one’s political leanings. Threats of boycotts are a common weapon employed by many sides of the battle for your support — philosophical, political or purchasing power.
In recent weeks, we’ve seen folks pledge to skip the NASCAR car racing circuit for its banning Confederate flags from its events. Certain sports fans claim they won’t watch National Football League games for its support of the “Black Lives Matters” movement. While another group claims they’ll no longer buy Quaker Oats goods after it chose to retire the Aunt Jemima brand because of its racial stereotypes.
Even business leaders play this game, with big companies boycotting Facebook advertising due to the social media giant’s unwillingness to limit hateful speech and misinformation on its platform.
Look, I fully support the right for corporate leaders to say what they want and run their organizations and product lines as they see fit. The voice of industry is an important part of the political discourse, especially in these challenging times. Though CEOs should be aware these days everybody’s listening 24/7/365.
Because at the same time, I fully support consumers’ right to vote with their wallets. They should spend their money with brands that make them happy— whether that’s due to the value provided by goods or a service, or that company’s political views. Trust me, CEOs watch what happens at the cash register 24/7/365, too.
In between these two viewpoints lies the great American marketplace, for both products and principles.
This is no doubt a hyper-partisan era that mixes awkwardly as many corporations pledge to act in a more “socially conscious” manner. The attempt by big business to put people before profits, means having an understanding of what a very divided public wants. The Goya CEO, for example, was also announcing a food donation while praising the president.
Just so you know, this rush to “boycott” is nothing new. The phrase “boycott” dates to 1880 and Charles Boycott, an Irish land agent whose business was shunned after he tried to evict farmers over unpaid rents. Some 140 years later, social media makes these calls to protest nearly real-time reactions.
Boycotting is not just talk. A 2019 poll by CompareCards showed 26% of Americans were currently boycotting a company or product they had previously did business with. But calling for the shopping protests might be overdone, the poll suggests, as 49% agreed that “people are too quick to recommend a boycott.”
And, yes, talk of boycotts are on the rise. Just look at one modern tool that can be used as a yardstick for popular thinking.
The Google Trend tool, which measures trends in the frequency of search word terms in the past 16 years, shows “boycott” surging but by no means at peak leveIs. Ponder these peaks in this “boycott index” of past years — several of which scored far higher on Google’s popularity yardstick than today’s don’t-buy messaging — and what boycott buzz was in the news at those times …
April 2006: Searching for “boycott” soared in the ramp-up to the “Great American Boycott” protest held May 1. It was a one-day boycott of schools and businesses by critics of U.S. immigration policies. This period ranked third-highest for word-search intensity by Google’s metric.
May 2010: Arizona’s new strict immigration enforcement law put the state in the boycott spotlight.
March 2012: Coffee-chain Starbucks became the target of boycotters because of the company’s support of gay marriage.
February 2014: A pair of boycotts were in the spotlight as gay rights protests targeted Russia’s Olympic games while Israeli policy against Palestinians angered others.
January 2016: Entertainment stars turned on their own industry, calling for a boycott of the Academy Awards due to a lack of diversity among the year’s Oscar nominees.
January 2017: Numerous Democratic lawmakers boycotted President Donald Trump’s inauguration. This period ranked highest in Google’s word-search intensity.
September 2017: Egged on by Trump, fervor built to boycott the NFL as players kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and social injustice.
September 2018: The Nike boycott buzz was tied to its support for NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the leader of the national anthem protests. This period ranked No. 2 by Google’s metric.
February 2019: Another football boycott made news when fans of the New Orleans Saints refused to watch the NFL championship game. Team supporters felt cheated after game officials made a bad call that prevented the Saints from playing in the Super Bowl.
As you can see, if you’re the boycott type, you’ll need to follow the news while filling out your shopping list.
Source: Orange County Register
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