Relevance in the Era of - Social Change and Disruption June 15, 2020 - W2O Group
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Relevance in the Era of Social Change and Disruption June 15, 2020 W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
What the Analysis Tells Us
2020 Continues People Are Highly Engaged
to Change Everything and Demanding Action
COVID-19 and a re-intensified focus on Silence is not an option. Listening and
racial injustice are changing the rules learning isn’t enough. Move beyond
of stakeholder engagement to ‘Black Washing.‘ Take action. Focus on
company action. accountability. Shift policy.
Companies and CEOs Relevance is Hard A New Era of
Have Responded Swiftly and the Core Tenets Corporate Citizenship
and Differently… of Relevance Stand is Dawning
…with mixed results. Strong responses went Take a stand aligned with your More than ever, companies have a
beyond generic statements, embraced core values and principles. Engage mandate to lead and engage
discourse and discomfort, and focused on stakeholders. Rally behind something big. on social issues both inside and
real action. Some were perceived as Keep going. This is hard work. outside their organizations.
engaging in ‘Performative Activism’ or Employees and stakeholders
‘Black Washing.’ demand action.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 2
Before Diving In, Let’s Look at What We Mean by Relevance W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Companies That Are Relevant Behave Differently
and Solicit Different Stakeholder Engagement
Relevance Relevance
a data-driven, agile way of thinking A One-dimensional Measure: it is multi-dimensional,
and operating that is attuned to societal multi-directional, multi-source and multi-audience
and cultural currency and urgency Only Impressions or Media Mentions: it is not only
about the number of articles or mentions in coverage
Only Quantity of Content: producing the most content,
shares or engagement does not make
you relevant
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Relevance Maps and Closes the Gap Between…
PLATFORMS: EXPECTATIONS:
…what companies need …what stakeholders expect, want
to say, want to say, and from, and are saying
are saying internally and Company Stakeholder about the company
externally Expertise Expectations or engaging with
Capabilities Policy/Politics
Lines of Business Technology
Cultural &
Future Growth
Generational
Relevance: is sensitive to and aligned with Cultural, Society, Political Currency & Urgency
• Digitally attuned to stakeholder discussion, • Not risk averse
wants, needs • Bold, provocative
• Topical, timely, agile • Differentiating, disruptive
• Interesting, genuine, authentic • Invites action & engagement or ‘DO’ moments
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 5
Operating from a Place of Relevance Delivers…
Resiliency Sustainability Collaboration and
Transparency
Being relevant helps you Relevance is hard to build, Having stakeholders
stay relevant — even in but very easy to lose. “discover” policy and partner on
global pandemics. approach is essential to
trust and relevancy.
An Authentic Actualizing Alignment with
Voice of Humility Purpose and Values Stakeholders
Relevance is now about Acknowledging that Being relevant with
sensitivity, empathy, action. your audience is not one- your stakeholders builds
dimensional increases organizational trust.
your relevance.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 6
We’ve Been Tracking Racial and Social Equity Efforts of Healthcare Companies from 2017–2019 W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Here’s What We Learned in 2018-2019
Diversity & Inclusion (D&I)
Conversations Healthcare Stakeholder
Relevance was
Expanding Expectations Heightened
Weak but Growing
Companies grew more relevant Social conversation and range of There was increased scrutiny
year-over-year (YOY). Retail, topics expanded. Increased on relationships between
pharma and medical device celebration of diverse peoples healthcare companies and
companies were most relevant. and specifically women of color. political entities.
Transparency Increased Calls to Action The Rise of the Chief
Was Key and Accountability Diversity Officer
Relevance leaders fostered an Companies intensified focus on 48% of the healthcare
open dialogue on social channels. action-oriented initiatives with companies tracked had a
We noticed a 62% increase in the measurable accountability and Chief Diversity Officer.
number of corporate tweets on increased calls for real behavior
the topics and tweets were 109% and policy change.
more engaging YOY
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 8Then 2020 Changed Everything… W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, the Election and Policy Issues
Dominated the Racial and Social Equity Conversation
Shares as a measure of what’s capturing attention and what people feel strongly enough about to amplify.
132,000 articles shared 607,500 times on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit.
8
7
Least Shared
6
Topic 5
Rank
4
Most Shared
3
2
1
January 1, 2020 – June 5, 2020, 132K articles, 607.5K shares on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit.
Based on more than 11,000 traditional online media outlets.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 10Racial Equity, D&I Searches Show the Inter-Relationships
of What People are Looking For and Encountering…
…and what companies should be mindful of
Key Finding
• Discrimination, equality, and diversity provide
the most overlap in search results while education Discrimination Education Equality
and advocacy-related searches
are more isolated
• Equality and diversity see more content
from legal, policy and academic institutions, resulting
in the tight interconnectedness
of the two categories.
• Discrimination search results are most
connected to equality, primarily through
mainstream media sources, like The New York
Times and Vox, as well as a few legal
and policy organizations.
• Advocacy and Education search results are
the most isolated with results predominantly
stemming from advocacy organizations.
Edge Weight
Total amount of times connecting.
In-Degree
Total amount of times connected
by others.
Curved Line
Signifies a mention. Curvature and
color of line signify direction.
Advocacy Diversity
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 11Companies Responded… …With Mixed Results W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Jeremiah Owyang
Industry Analyst
I’m going to call it now: Big corporate brands are
going to commit ‘Black Washing.’
Many will go overboard on pro-BLM without *true*
change, hurting both the cause and their own credibility,
like we saw with ‘Pride Washing’ and
‘Green Washing.’
(June 9, 2020, Linked & Twitter)
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 13Out of Fortune 50 Companies, 36 Addressed
Racial Issues Symbolized by George Floyd’s Murder
Committed to Action via Monetary Donations
22 / 50 So What?
Relevance Leaders
Real Action Drives Relevance:
Committed to Changing Policies / Ways of Work Most Fortune 50 organizations were willing to
acknowledge and speak out about racism in
7 / 50
the United States, but fewer (44%) committed
to direct action as a result. Even fewer (14%)
committed to changing company policies to
address inequalities.
Organizations that got out in front with
Acknowledged Systemic Flaws Driving Racism robust response initiatives bolstered their
relevance in a positive manner, particularly
26 / 50 when committing to business/policy changes.
Platitudes Fell Short:
Some companies that spoke out on racial
Acknowledged George Floyd Directly issues but did not back up their messaging
with concrete actions were typically met with
20 / 50
skepticism, with some being accused of taking
part in cynical “Performative Activism”.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 14#BlackoutTuesday Generated Mixed Reaction
Combined w/ Donations Exposed the Un-Exposed Changed Music Content
Some brands, such as Apple, Participating brands exposed some Music technology companies, like Spotify,
Positive
TikTok, YouTube and others audiences – many of whom do not Apple Music, YouTube and Tidal, used the
combined their participation in regularly see discussion around racial opportunity to change how content is
the movement with donations to inequities - to the broader displayed on their platforms, created silent
help-related causes. conversation. tracks to highlight how long George Floyd
was suffocated for, and canceled pre-
scheduled programming to focus on
highlighting Black music.
Brands Drowned-Out Systemic Imbalances
Co-Opted Voices in the Music Industry
Negative
Some brands were perceived as Initial confusion around hashtag usage Some artists took the opportunity to
using the opportunity to raise (among consumers and brands) drowned out highlight the systemic imbalances in
their own social capital instead of posts organizing protests as well as footage of the music industry (the originator of
seeking to address problems or racial injustices being shared. Concerns that the movement), including lack of artist
contribute in concrete ways. activist voices silencing themselves for a day compensation, rights to their work and
would lead to a vacuum of information, as exploitative contracts.
well as important voices being missing from
the conversation at a crucial inflection point.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 15Attuned Organizations with Authentic Actions…
…generated mostly positive but some mixed reactions (and that’s OK)
Company What They Did What It Delivered
• Bank of America pledged $1 billion over the next four years to community • High levels of news coverage from a wide array of top-tier media.
programs and small businesses to help address economic and racial • Some skepticism in coverage, with sources highlighting a $2.2 million
inequality that has been exacerbated by COVID-19. fine in 2013 for discriminating against Black job candidates.
• Bank of America stated the money will expand health services in • Criticism of existing policies like overdraft fees, which some see as
communities of color, support small businesses and recruit new bank being used to fund the donation.
employees in economically disadvantaged communities.
• Nike released an ad entitled “For Once, Don’t Do It” at the onset of • Heavy media coverage from top-tier, trade and hobbyist sources. Coverage
nationwide BLM protests, imploring Americans to speak out. referenced Nike’s past Kaepernick ad campaign, and
• A week later, Nike announced a $40 million donation over the next four noted that this is in line with their brand’s identity and history.
years to “support the Black community in the US” • Leveraged sponsored athletes to increase visibility among key
• Nike subsidiary Jordan Collection in conjunction with Michael Jordan, audiences and highlight the campaign.
announced a $100 million donation spread over 10 years to organizations • Audiences lauded Nike’s consistent commitment to social causes,
dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and as well as Michael Jordan’s involvement in the larger donation.
access to education. • Some detractors pointed out Nike’s history of using overseas labor.
• Nike announced a 2x donation match for employees for BLM donations.
• Lowe’s announced it would provide $25 million in grants to help minority- • Positive news coverage, highlighting not only Lowe’s contributions to
owned businesses reopen, particularly in light of COVID-19 shutdowns. minority-owned businesses but also its donations and philanthropy
• These funds follow $340 million of support provided for COVID-19 relief around COVID-19 and CEO Marvin Ellison’s background.
in Q1. • Grassroots social campaign highlights CEO Marvin Ellison being one
of the only Black Fortune 500 CEOs and Home Depot founder Bernie
Marcus’ $7 million donation to President Trump’s 2016 campaign.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 16Attuned Organizations with Authentic Actions…
…generated mostly positive but some mixed reactions (and that’s OK)
Company What They Did What It Delivered
• Target announced a $10 million commitment in addition to ongoing • Heavy coverage from top-tier, trade and local media; audiences applauding
resources to advance social justice and support rebuilding/recovery Target’s sensitivity and commitment even in light of
efforts stores being damaged and their prior support of police initiatives.
in local communities, with transparent details on how much money each • Target lauded for specificity in their response; from transparency
organization will receive. around how much money specific organizations were receiving,
• This includes $10 million to partners such as the National Urban League and to CEO Brian Cornell’s statement that specifically named victims of
African American Leadership Forum, 10,000 hours of pro-bono consulting police brutality and acknowledgement of a nationwide problem.
services for small businesses owned by Black and POC business owners in
the Twin Cities, as well as helping with rebuilding efforts.
• CEO Brian Cornell highlights need to rebuild without ascribing blame or
fault for impact on local stores.
• IBM announces it will discontinue its facial recognition software group, • High levels of social sharing and discussion about IBM’s decision,
and will no longer sell the technology, due to its employment by law including recognition of IBM being one of the first companies to
enforcement agencies and the inherent biases in the technology. make a concrete business decision to address inequalities instead of
• IBM CEO Arvind Krishna stated in a letter to two US senators and three marketing/social media actions.
House of Representatives members that IBM will work with Congress in • Coverage from top technology and financial media highlighting the
pursuit of justice and racial equity, and advocated for responsible decision, as well as CEO Krishna’s comment about having a national
technology policies that do not promote discrimination or racial injustice. dialogue on facial recognition technology as a whole.
• SoftBank launched a $100M+ Opportunity Growth Fund, specifically • Strong pickup from top-tier and business media, as well as start-up
created to invest in companies created led by founders and entrepreneurs publications.
of color. • Commenters highlighted how quickly they started up the fund, the
• They clarified they will not take a traditional management fee, and importance of focusing on entrepreneurs of color and the importance
half of its gains will be reinvested into subsequent Growth of supporting minority-owned businesses.
Opportunity Funds. • Some outlets noted the difference in scope between their Vision Fund
• SoftBank will also donate a portion of gains to organizations that create ($100B) and this fund ($100M), as well as some controversies around
opportunities for people of color, as well as creating a D&I program to prior investments.
examine hiring biases.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 17CEOs Responded… …With Mixed Results W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Most Effective CEO Responses Owned Missteps,
Focused on Action While Maintaining an Authentic Voice
Effective CEOs:
MOVED BEYOND THE STATEMENT
CEOs using video and online interviews conveyed
empathy and vulnerability, while facilitating a So What?
conversation around the issue.
CEOs that missed the mark remained
silent or offered one-time, generic
BUILT ON THEIR AUTHENTIC VOICE
platitudes with no action while
CEOs most effective in sharing their message stakeholders were expecting
have a legacy of using their voice to support social
issues and underserved communities.
accountability and action plans
to drive change.
OWNED WHERE THEY’VE FALLEN SHORT Stakeholders generally, and employees
specifically demand that organizations
CEOs acknowledging that they have work to do
and are committed to doing better demonstrated take a stand on societal issues.
self-awareness, accountability, and leadership. They’ll reward it and they’ll help
with something big to rally behind
particularly the organization’s and
FOCUSED ON ACTION their personal values are aligned.
Leaders with a clear and specific action plan
showed their genuine commitment to making
change happen.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 19Strong CEO Responses Went Beyond the Statement
CEO What They Said What They Did What It Delivered
• Visibly upset, Vestberg stated his • Ensured employees have a safe space • The video has been viewed over 100K
commitment to listen, understand to share, discuss and get support. times across Verizon’s Twitter and
and help. • Made a $10M donation to social YouTube channels.
• Spoke to the importance of ensuring justice organizations through the • The video message posted on
safety of V-team members, including Verizon Foundation. Verizon.com has garnered 10.9K
the Verizon News Media teams who • Paused its annual Pride campaign to shares.
are covering these events. focus on BLM movement.
• Concluded by asking for a quiet
Hans Vestberg, Verizon moment to pay respect for those
June 1 Video Message
who have lost their lives due to
social injustice.
• Frazier spoke to CNBC and said • Mentioned partnership with non- • News coverage surrounding the
Floyd “could be me.” profit Year Up to help close the CNBC interview resulted in over 650K
• Stated that businesses need to opportunity gap for young adults of shares in top tier outlets including
go beyond the statement and color . The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg,
“step up and provide the leadership and The New York Times.
our country needs.”
• Discussed his personal experience
that put his “life on a different
Hans Vestberg trajectory” and gave him “an
Rodney McMullen
Ken Frazier, Merck
June 2 CNBC’s “Squawk Box”
opportunity to close the opportunity
gap.”
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 20Strong CEO Responses Went Beyond the Statement
CEO What They Said What They Did What It Delivered
• Discussed using the power of their • Created “We Must Dismantle White • The “We Must Dismantle
business to shine a light on social Supremacy” page on its website, White Supremacy” page has resulted
injustices. with four calls to action to the in over 1M shares.
• Stated systemic racism is everywhere, government. • The media deemed the statement
including within all businesses and • Continued education on “extraordinary” “no-holds-barred” and
within his business. its website including “Reparations “monumental.” News coverage
• Company was among one of the first Explained.’ generated over 240K shares in top tier
Tim Cook to respond with its action-oriented outlets including CNN, Newsweek,
Rodney McMullen
statement and has continued to post and The Hill.
Matthew McCarthy, Ben and Jerry’s on social media channels.
June 9, CNBC’s Squawk on The Street
• Another early responder, Cook stated • Made a $100M commitment to • On Twitter, the video has resulted in
the company’s mission but “we must Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice over 270K views and 15K
do more.” Initiative, focusing on issues engagements.
• Emphasized the importance of surrounding education, economic • Cook’s Open Letter posted on
reexamining our own views and equality, and criminal justice reform Apple.com has been well received
actions to create change and aim for a • Matched employee donation for the with over 10K shares. New coverage
better future. month of June. mentioning the latter garnered 45K
Ken Frazier shares.
Hans Vestberg • On June 11 via video announced Apple’s
Racial Equity and Justice Initiative.
Tim Cook, Apple
May 31, Memo to Employees, June 11 Video
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 21Employees Responded… …to Their Companies’ Initiatives W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Employees are Demanding Companies To Do More, Do Better
What employees expect:
BE SEEN & HEARD REAL ACTION
Employees expect to be seen, heard and ultimately Employees demand companies to go beyond
considered by leadership as they take action platitudes and institute real and lasting
(e.g. letters, protests on campus) to drive change organizational change.
from within.)
MAKE APOLOGIES, TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY BE BOLD
Employees are asking companies to apologize for past Employees expect companies to represent their
mistakes and take accountability for racism values, publicly condemning and making bold
and discrimination perpetuated internally. business decisions to fight against racism and
social injustice.
Why this matters:
RELEVANCE BEGINS WITHIN: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NARRATIVES MUST MATCH
CEO approval and external engagement are the biggest drivers of relevance. Relevance leaders recognize that
stakeholders—particularly employees demand companies take a stand on issues. And that they’ll reward it and are
willing to help if given something big to rally behind that is also aligned with their personal values. If the company isn’t
leading, employees will call them out.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 23Employees Drove Change From Within
Company What They Said What Employees Did What It Delivered
• Adidas announced on 6/9 that • Employee Julie Bond, wrote a • Adidas 6/10 response on Instagram
30 percent of new hires would be letter to Adidas leadership in North stated “We’ve celebrated athletes
Black or Latino. America asking for an apology for the and artists in the Black community
• The company also racism and discrimination “enabled and and used their image to define
pledged to fund scholarships for perpetuated” at the company. Bond took ourselves culturally as a brand, but
Black students and expand funding her letter and story to missed the message in reflecting
for programs that address racial the media. such little representation within our
Tim Cook walls.”
Rodney McMullen
disparities. • Other employees, including Aric Armon,
• However, the statement wrote letters and posted publicly to social • According to The New York Times,
omitted any acknowledgement media. many employees saw it as “a hard-
of internal discrimination or • Prior to the 6/9 statement, a coalition of won victory, a big step in the
corporate apology. employees sent North American company admitting the problem.”
Leadership a presentation outlining “But others said something was
requests to recognize and respond to missing.”
racial injustice.
• Starbucks prohibited employees from • Employees criticized the company • Starbucks reversed its prior policy
wearing BLM attire, citing it could be for being “performative” and “hypocritical” and and is now making 250K shirts that
misunderstood and potentially incite that the decision was made to “not cause includes “Black Lives Matter” and “No
violence. conflict Justice, No Peace” available to
with customers.” employees.
• #BoycottStarbucks was trending • Employees can also wear pins and
on Twitter immediately following shirts to show support.
a BuzzFeed report on 6/11.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 24Employees Drove Change From Within
Company What They Said What Employees Did What It Delivered
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell • NFL video producer, Bryndon Minter, • Commissioner Goodell issued another
acknowledged the tragic events did not think the league was doing statement on behalf of the NFL
that happened across the country, enough in response to recent events capitulating to every demand made by
and that there “remains much more and created a powerful 70-second the players but stopped short of saying
to do as a country and as a league” long video featuring NFL superstars the league was "wrong in silencing our
to address these systemic issues, demanding the NFL condemning players" and instead the league was
but did not cite specific actions racism, declaring that BLM and "wrong for not listening."
the league will be taking. affirming the right of peaceful protest • $250M donation over 10 years to combat
• He also expressed his condolences systemic racism.
to the families of George Floyd, • Leverage the NFL media network to
Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud increase emphasis on raising awareness
Arbery for their losses. and promoting education of social
justice issues.
• CEO Satya Nadella issued remarks • 250 Microsoft employees sent an • $1.5M donation split equally among
addressed to employees, urging everyone to email urging leadership to cancel six organizations that are advancing
check-in with each contracts with the Seattle Police social justice and addressing racial
other, show empathy and drive systemic Department and other law inequality.
change. enforcement agencies, asking the • Company matching of employees'
• Resurfaced the work Microsoft is company to formally support the BLM contributions to eligible organizations.
doing with the Criminal Justice Reform movement and calling for the resignation of
• Announced it will not sell facial-recognition
Initiative, driving reforms particularly in the Seattle mayor, company matching
technology to police departments until there
policing. of employee donations among others.
is federal
law regulating it.
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 25Guidance for Companies W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group
Guidance for Companies
The Basics What’s New
• Embrace discomfort • Dawn of a new age of corporate citizenship
• Listen, learn
• Recognize the difference between • Different forms of social and civic
responding and engaging engagement
• Elevate voices of the disparate stakeholders
• Take a stand • Insistence on values-based leadership
• Own where you’ve fallen short
• NEW MODEL: Values + people before profit:
• Focus on empathy, sincerity, authenticity
What are you doing to support the
aligned with your core purpose and values
community at large?
• Focus on transparency
• Focus on actions beyond monetary • No longer enough to change your
donations organization—it’s bigger than just your
• Focus on the long term company and your contributions—now
• Focus on measurable accountability you need to influence the world
• Shift policy
• Sustain actions over time
W2O \ 17 June 2020 \ Proprietary and Confidential Property of W2O Group Pg. 27For more information:
With contributions from:
Abby Hayes Marianne Gollub
Managing Director, Integrated Communications,
W2Opure
Kayla Rodriguez
Member, Healthcare BusinessWomen’s Katy Hagert
Association Gender Parity Collaborative Meredith Owen
ahayes@w2ogroup.com Kendall Tich
Alan Chumley
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