In May 2020, amid many protests over police killings of Black Americans, many brands posted messages of support for the Black community and for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. On June 2, 2020, many brands participated in Black Out Tuesday, on which they silenced their social media for the day and displayed a black square to show support for Black Lives Matter, pledging to support policy changes countering systemic racism in the criminal justice system. Some of the nation’s most popular brands—from Starbucks, Netflix, Nordstrom, and Nike to REI, Glossier, Ben & Jerry’s, and the NFL—used their marketing power to help build awareness and momentum for the BLM movement. Social media posts from such brands earned higher-than-usual engagement. Use of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag grew more than 250-fold.

One reason that many brands that don’t normally take public stands on controversial issues supported the Black Lives Matter movement is its broad support among millennial and Generation Z consumers, generational cohorts important to brands’ future growth. However, many people questioned whether brand commitments to the Black community would extend beyond the support shown in June 2020. Brands that spoke out to support diversity, equity, and inclusion then are being asked now to back their commitments with actions.

Many brands supported the BLM movement in 2020 and 2021. Research the issue and discuss how brands communicated their positions to customers. What online or social media platforms did they use? Are they still communicating the message clearly and effectively? Are they backing their messaging with actions? Give examples.