President Trump’s attempted restriction on Muslim travel ban may have sparked a new birth of corporate social responsibility. A plethora of corporations and other groups protested Trump’s executive order to stop emigration and travel from several Muslim and courts blocked the order.
In the past, corporations pursued CSR to help the greater good, sometimes to the detriment of their bottom lines. But now they can pursue CSR to support their own interests. That’s because the travel restrictions threaten some of their employees.
“The unintended consequence of Trump’s executive order is the birth of a new era of corporate responsibility, where companies advocate for the well-being not just of underserved populations historically addressed in traditional’ CSR programs, but also of those very people who enable these companies to thrive,” writes Reed Bundy, founder of Ethostrategies, a CSR consultant in Triple Pundit.
A Watershed Moment for Corporate Social Responsibility
Trump’s Muslim ban is a watershed moment for corporate responsibility, agrees Tina Casey, director of public affairs of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Amazon joined Expedia to support a lawsuit against the Muslim ban filed by the state of Washington. Amazon identified at least 49 individual employees affected by Trump’s executive order, undercutting Trump’s argument. Its involvement was instrumental in persuading the federal judge to impose a restraining order, which applied nationwide, Casey writes in Triple Pundit.
In a different kind of example of a company lodging its opposition, Disney CEO Bob Iger declined to attend Trump’s Strategy and Policy Forum meeting with other top corporate executives, citing a previously scheduled board meeting. Publicity around the event made his absence conspicuous and created the appearance of a snub.
Cartoon Brew Editor Amid Amidi praised Iger’s decision not to attend, whatever the real reason. Disney is different from other corporations. It’s is a cultural brand. “It stands not just for products, but ideas, and over the last decade, the company has made a concerted effort to show that its ideas are socially progressive.”
Ads Support Diversity
Many companies have run ads that support diversity and inclusion in an unstated but clear disapproval of Trump.
Amazon ran an ad that features a Christian pastor and Muslim imam conversing over tea as friends. It consulted with several religious organizations to ensure the ad was accurate and respectful. Airbnb and Coca-Cola ran ads promoting inclusion during the Super Bowl. Hyatt introduced its campaign “For a World of Understanding” during the Oscars.
A campaign for YouTube Music last year showed five individuals, including a young woman in a hijab, rapping to a song by Blackalicious while walking through a school corridor. YouTube is owned by Google.
“We knew it was a bold statement, but it was also a very important one for us to make,” says Danielle Tiedt, chief marketing officer at YouTube, told Digiday. “It was what our users expected from us, and it was also the perfect time to represent diversity and to stand up for our core values.”
The ads often received hateful comments, often anonymously. Ad agency Droga5 advised Honey Maid to expect virulent responses to its ad about white and Muslim-American neighbors, although it garnered fewer complaints than feared.
Many might argue that getting involved in politics and social issues is inappropriate and dangerous. Companies can offend at least some customers and lose sales. However, research shows that people are more politicized and expect companies to take a stance.
According to the Innovation Group at JWT Intelligence, 39 percent of millennials say that brands should play a larger role in politics, and 51 percent say that they appreciate brands taking a political stance in their advertising. A public stance by corporations in favor of diversity and against bigotry is a good place to begin exercising corporate social responsibility – and it’s certainly not too late to join the campaign.
Bottom Line: Opposition to President Trump’s travel restrictions on Muslims has opened a new chapter on corporate social responsibility. Both social concerns and self-interest motivate companies to oppose the restrictions, which remain blocked by the courts, and to promote diversity.
Michael Kling is manager of public relations, marketing and social media at Glean.info, a media monitoring and measurement service that provides customized media monitoring and PR analytics solutions.
