Brands Taking Stands Newsletter, 5/30/18

Brands Taking Stands: NFL Passes New Protest Policy

The Big Story

“The Big Story” in this week’s edition of the Brands Taking Stands Newsletter focuses on the NFL’s adoption of a new policy about players’ protesting during the playing of the national anthem. The organization is in brand reputation management mode following last season’s controversy over the protests, aimed at drawing attention to social injustice by kneeling during the music instead of standing. Attendance for “America’s game” at is down, as is television viewership, and some blame the “unpatriotic” actions. Responses to the new policy split along racial lines in a league where 94 percent of the owners are white and 70 percent of the players are African-American. The NFL is in line with the many other sectors of business now undergoing similar reviews about how to accommodate the expression of employee attitudes about hot-button social issues in the workplace (c.f. Starbucks). Read the full story here.

News You Can Use

“Other “News You Can Use” stories in this week’s edition offers insights on brand protection and values by Disney/ABC in cancelling “Roseanne” after racist tweets by the show’s star; 57 female CEOs on how to get more women into corporate top spots; tips for activist-supported industries and markets; and the use of behavioral ethics in “nudging” tactics to ensure compliance by employees to company standards.

C-Suite Comments

 “C-suite comments” features a statement by Theresa Carrington, CEO of Ten By Three and longtime donor to the Whole Foods Foundation.

People on the Move

“People on the Move” reports on changes at CECP and Getronics.

To read this week's newsletter in full or review archived editions, click here.  

To subscribe to the Brands Taking Stands Newsletter, click here.