How corporate America Responds to the Events

  • Apple, Nike and Google among the major companies to make statements on racial injustice.
  • Cause marketing heats up as protests sweep the nation.
  • Apple, Amazon and Target to halt or slow down operations amid protests.

The death of an african-American, George Floyd in the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has triggered protests in several cities in the UNITED states. While mostly peaceful, the protests have grown violent in some cities, encourage the deployment of the National Guard that some of the demonstrators set vehicles and buildings on fire, involved in acts of vandalism and looting of shops.

Some of America’s largest companies have responded to the protests, using their influence and the pervasiveness of consumers to express their opinions.Currently, there are three ways of large companies in the UNITED states are in the process of responding to a social upheaval:

Support for Racial Equality and #BLM

Ceos and the business press teams are in the process of drafting and releasing carefully the wording of the letter and statements against bigotry and injustice.

Twitter, currently locked in a standoff with the President of Advantage, has changed his official twitter bio to #BlackLivesMatter. UNITED states on Google and YouTube home pages, said, “We stand in support of racial equality, and all those who seek it.””For those who feel the grief, anger, sadness and fear, you are not alone,” said the CEO, Sundar Pichai in a press release.

Apple CEO Tim Cook addressed the situation in a memo to employees that was seen by the press. “Now, there is pain, deeply engraved in the soul of our nation and in the hearts of millions of people,” he wrote. “To stay together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, pain and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism.”

Amazon/Twitter.

Amazon has issued a statement saying that “the inequality and the brutality” of afro-Americans in the UNITED states must stop. Nike has released a video that has replaced his famous “Just Do It” slogan with “not Do it” and Adidas supported him.

Looking at it from a commercial point of view, such that the messages of the companies is known as marketing, and it works despite the possible reaction of certain groups. The term was coined by American Express in 1983 when it launched a campaign to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty restoration. Sometimes, the marketing is the tone-deaf (think Pepsi Kendall Jenner ad) or contradicts the values of the company, in some way, the exposure of the firm to ridicule. For example, Amazon asked in a tweet by the American Civil Liberties Union, though it will now “stop the sale of face-recognition surveillance technology that boost the abuse to the police.”

Donations

Apple says that it is by making donations to various groups, including the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to marginalized communities. The tech giant will also be matching two-for-one, all donations from its employees through Benevity. Google’s YouTube said it is pledging $ 1 million to support “efforts to tackle social injustice.” Uber is a gift of $1 million to the Equal Justice Initiative and The Center for Policing Equity, said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Big players in the music industry are the observation of “Black Out “on Tuesday” by the discontinuation of the business operations on June 2, and making donations. Atlantic Record is a gift of Black Lives Matter and other organizations. Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA) is to give the various that provide legal aid and “charitable organizations focused on the creation of economic empowerment in the Black community.” Capitol Music Group is a donation to non-profit to Change Color.

Scaling Back Operations

The UNITED states in the middle of the re-opening of its economy, but some companies choose to scale back operations in the areas to see demonstrations. Amazon is the reduction of the deliveries and change course, in some areas, Apple is keeping most of its recently reopened shops closed, and the Target is the adjustment of the store hours or the temporarily closure of some sites. Walmart closed hundreds of stores in an hour early on Sunday, but most are expected to re-open it. Nordstrom temporarily closed all of its stores on Sunday.

Source: investopedia.com

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