by Herman Manson (@marklives) At a time of political crisis, should corporate leaders expose their political thinking and address issues of national importance? Or is it too risky for brands to manage? We emailed a panel of key industry executives for their take and we’re publishing their responses throughout this week. Today it’s the turn of Odette van der Haar, CEO of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA).
- Monday: Mike Abel on business, politics & matters of conscience
- Tuesday: Erna George on taking a stand vs making a difference
- Wednesday: Joshin Raghubar on how business leaders can speak up
- Thursday: Odette van der Haar on political minefields & the bottom line
Odette van der Haar
Odette van der Haar (@odette_roper) is the CEO of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA), which is the recognised industry body of the advertising and communications profession in South Africa. It is a voluntary body formed both by and for the industry, focused upon and committed to self-regulation, and to defend the highest standards of ethical practice.
It was Albert Einstein that stated, “Politics is more difficult than physics.” With that in mind, corporate leaders and business owners should be thoughtful about voicing political or even sociopolitical opinions.
Elements to consider
There are a number of elements to consider before traversing the political minefield. Unfortunately, in most cases, people do not separate individuals from their businesses. This is particularly true of very prominent individuals. Thus the leader and the brand are seen as one. It is not easy to take a principled stand that your customers may or may not like, and this must be carefully considered beforehand.
To repeat myself, when corporate leaders do comment, this means that brands are commenting; we have to ask why this is happening. Is it a true moral compass or a calculated business strategy designed to target a particular market? There are very few brands worldwide that would have the ability to withstand the economic effects, should a backlash from consumers ensue.
There are many risks for a business when aligning with political causes. These include: company leaders weighing in on political comment could alienate their employees who may not agree; brands could be viewed as being hypocritical, due to commenting in one market while doing the complete opposite in another; brands could lose customers — although they may create a new niche following — or could possibly have their comments misinterpreted.
Basic rule of branding
Given that the inherent risks to business are numerous and, ultimately, businesses exist to make a profit, anything that may erode the bottom line needs to be carefully scrutinised and the basic rule of branding needs to be kept top of mind, ie that the role for brands and business leaders is to satisfy consumer needs. “Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business,” said Winston Churchill. So, before brands and their leaders weigh in on political discourse, they should stop and think first.
Launched in 2016, “The Big Q” is a monthly column on MarkLives in which we ask key industry execs for their thoughts on relevant issues facing the ad industry. If you’d like to be part of our pool of potential panellists, please contact editor Herman Manson via email (2mark at marklives dot com) or Twitter (@marklives). Suggestions for questions are also welcomed.
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