“When Bud happened, I can’t believe the board didn’t wake up to that decimation market cap … Budweiser was the American beer. It took decades to build that brand, and they blew it up in 30 hours.” — CNBC Shark Tank investor “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary
Want to piss off everyone left and right?
The Los Angeles Dodgers first invited the anti-Catholic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to a special Pride Month celebration June 16. Next, the club uninvited the drag group mocking nuns, only to reinvite them again. When all was said and done the Dodgers managed to offend everyone (even their star pitcher Clayton Kershaw), but most of all their loyal Hispanic fan base.
Comprende?
And what is the predominant religion of this growing demographic? How about Roman Catholicism? You want a group on your home field making cruel “fun” of 1.5 billion Catholics?
As a decade-long director of Corporate Public Relations for LSI Logic and later as an assistant professor of public relations, corporate communications and investor relations, Almost DailyBrett provided C-suite counsel and taught students to appreciate the distinct difference between fiduciary responsibility (doing well) and corporate social responsibility (doing good).
Self-congratulatory Corporate Virtue Signaling is not Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Corporate Virtue Signaling has absolutely zero connection with legally mandated Fiduciary Responsibility, driving the top and bottom lines. Corporate Virtue Signalers by their well-documented mistakes obviously do not understand the premise of Buy Low Sell High.
Is Corporate Virtue Signaling the latest iteration of Green Washing (‘we’re doing great for the environment’) or Pink Washing (‘we’re attune of breast cancer awareness month’)? If you don’t believe us, just ask.
Why don’t we connect transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney to Bud Light beer cans? Oh, that’s already been done. How did that work out with your suds drinking audience — Anglo, Male, Younger, Lower Income — Anheuser Busch?
Why don’t we offer tuck-it-away women’s bathing suits to cover up naughty hombre bits that are product of birth? Whattayathink le Target’?
Should Virtue Signaling Corporations Enter The Abortion Fight?
“I’ve never seen a case where one item, that tuck swimsuit, that’s really what made the difference versus the competitors. That’s where the big mistake [was] made.” — former Target Vice Chairman Gerald Storch
“Do you ever hear a CEO that represents a company ever talking about abortion. Never. Because that is an issue that will never be resolved. It’s a personal issue. It’s a family issue. It’s a religious issue. It’s partisan forever. You don’t touch it. Same thing with politics. Same thing with gender identity. Everybody has a personal opinion about it. When you actually get involved in a fight like that, you lose 50 percent of your constituency.” — Kevin O’Leary on the compelling need for corporations to stay away from social issues
Almost DailyBrett served as a vice president and director of two industry trade associations, including the Semiconductor Industry Association. The SIA serves as the political lobbying arm for America’s chip designers/manufacturers.
Our primary purpose in the 1990s was to open Japan’s protectionist semiconductor market to foreign suppliers (U.S., European, Korean etc.). The association took the political slings and arrows and as a result, helped our members (i.e., Intel, AMD, Micron, Texas Instruments, LSI Logic, Motorola …) protect their own hard-earned corporate brands and reputations.
Why mix brands with combative politics and religion? Didn’t mom say to never discuss politics and religion?
What happens when a company foolishly decides to put its hard-earned brand and reputation at risk, dividing and offending its customer base in order to please a minority of its employees? Anheuser-Busch, Disney, Kohl’s, Target and the Los Angeles Dodgers are present-day champions of Corporate Virtue Signaling.
Who’s next?
There is a silent majority in America, who will quietly decide to not buy the product, not attend the theme park, not buy tickets to the game, not stream the video and even boycott the brand. The results will be a massive loss of market capitalization, declines in the top line revenues and bottom line results.
For what purpose? Corporations are not bestowers of civil rights, never have been never will be. Don’t ask, don’t tell.
Next up for corporate virtue signalers will be securities lawsuits, analyst downgrades (e.g., Anheuser-Busch, Target), fired chief executives (e.g., Bob Chapek of Disney), divided employees, PR nightmares and enduring hits on corporate reputation and brand, some of them permanent.
Worse yet? It all could have been avoided by just saying ‘no’ to self-serving Corporate Virtue Signaling.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-target-exec-reveals-one-item-that-sparked-consumer-firestorm
(Almost) DailyBrett 