Risking Principal over Principles to StopHateforProfit
Photo: @JonTyson
We joined the #StopHateforProfit campaign and paused our Facebook and Instagram advertising on July 1, 2020.
It wasn’t an easy decision for our small company to make.
For us, the timing couldn’t be better and couldn’t be worse.
After going through a year-long strategic process that included refreshing the brand, developing and implementing a new digital game plan, along with some serious resourcefulness and hustle from our team, we’ve seen major growth in our e-commerce business, even during this pandemic. And while we don’t totally rely on it, our Facebook and Instagram advertising have certainly been helping our e-commerce sales.
How ironic then, that shutting down our FB and Instagram advertising for July comes at a time when we should be continuing to capitalize on it.
I know other apparel and beauty companies are wrestling with this conundrum. I get where they’re coming from. Fashion is a competitive and stressful business facing serious issues like the steady decline of brick and mortar retail, shrinking margins, and rising costs.
Estimating the value of our values
I could have made the immediate decision to join the campaign. However, there was no way I would go ahead without the advice and support of my team. The key questions we had to consider:
What is the impact to our community and our customers?
What are the financial implications?
Where could we re-invest that advertising budget?
One of my outside advisors presented a measured perspective. Maybe we didn’t have to join, even though the campaign was fully aligned with our values. Everyone would understand because we’re a small company dealing with the challenges of the pandemic.
She also reasoned that given our 30+ year history of philanthropy and activism for equality, as well as our recent efforts around COVID-19, we could take a pass on this particular campaign.
Taking the risk
I was wondering if my team might have a similar perspective.
When, I asked them their opinion, they were quick to respond. Even the least impulsive and the most prudent voices were quick to respond “Yes, let's do it!" It felt so good to hear their enthusiasm.
We coalesced around three points:
The monetizing and spreading of hate speech is against our most deeply held values.
That we all feel a sense of purpose and pride in a making a decision that we know is right.
Our commitment to our values would and should continue to shine through every aspect of our company -- engaging our customers and energizing us to find other innovative ways to market our lines.
It's not about the money - well, not totally
There are industry pundits who say that the loss of ad revenues will not cause Facebook to significantly change its approach. That may be true. But, we all need to recognize that this campaign, with its widespread support, isn’t just about depriving Facebook of revenue..
It's about business leaders from companies of all sizes standing up for their values. We are signaling to Facebook and the public that the business community is serious about stopping the spread of misinformation and hate that fuels prejudice, racism, and violence.
Given the initial steps Facebook has taken to address these issues, we are hopeful that the company will listen even more intently to the voices of customers, as well as its own employees, and urgently take significant action to change its policies and practices around hate speech.
