3 ways to ensure you don’t fall for the trap of ‘Rainbow Washing’ this Pride month.
Rainbow Washing, the practice of changing your logo using the rainbow as a marketing stunt but not as a genuine commitment, is a dangerous trap against being authentic.
There’s been a lot of noise about different brands commitments to the LGBTQI+ community and a lot of concern, and rightly so, about brands leverage the Pride Flag. Pride Month is here, and we should all take the opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge those who took and continue to take the lead in LGBTQI+ activism. However, we need to ensure that we aren’t abusing this symbol of solidarity and support to drive our numbers up for the month.
Shockingly according to Amnesty International, gender diverse and transgender people can face up to 50 to 60 instances of micro-aggression (casual discrimination) a day which means more support for the community is still needed. There is a world of difference between changing colours on the website and creating a world where everyone feels safe and has an equal opportunity to succeed.
The LGBTQI+ community holds a considerable amount of buying power, 3.7 trillion dollars, according to Forbes. And of course, if this is an audience segment for your product, you want to be visibly supportive of the community. But that has to be more than just token activities for the month, i.e. rainbow washing; it requires being a true authentic champion not just in your marketing by how you operate.
1.) Inclusive language.
We can do a few simple things year-round in our marketing activities to show our solidarity and be a better ally. This can start by practising inclusive language and pronouns. Sounds easy, but it’s incredible how often this doesn’t happen.
We can also think about how we signal to people year-round that our company is a place of acceptance — demonstrating and consciously cultivating an LGBTQ+-inclusive approach to visuals and design.
2.) Creating campaigns that are outside-in all year round that celebrate the LGTBQI+ community.
Nothing beats a great example of this, and I love this campaign from H&M: https://beyondtherainbow.hm.com/.
No Rainbow Washing here. They haven’t changed their logo but instead used a mobile-first approach to create an experience around powerful authentic stories from the community themselves. They are connecting the flag to what it represents.
The storytelling approach is spot on, and the image recognition technology they’ve used to allow you to scan anything with a rainbow from a flag to doughnut has to be pretty ground-breaking. It provides context and then the ability to get involved yourself driving valuable user-generated content.
It shows support for the community by building community and showcases the beauty of our desire to celebrate people and their stories of all kinds. It doesn’t use the rainbow to push products, temporarily change the logo, or use LGTBQI+ team members as props in content.
Marketing should not be using Pride or the flag as a brand deal or sales opportunity to capture a share of spend when, in reality, they are a company that is actively not supporting the community behind the scenes.
3.) Use suppliers and partner with companies that do the right thing.
What we should be doing is working with companies that do the right thing by the community year-round. Place your hard-earned marketing dollars and pounds with companies that:
- Have transparent, open and uplifting support to LGBTQI+ all the time
- Offer paid opportunities and don’t discriminate against anyone in the LGBTQI+ community
- Don’t underpay LGBTQI+ Talent
- They openly speak up against anti-LGBTQI+ policy and legislation
- They don’t contribute to any anti-LGBTQI+ organisation or public figure while at the same time using the rainbow flag
Let us all celebrate the powerful symbol of Pride this month but know the onus of action and change falls on every one year-round, not just when the logo becomes a beautiful rainbow.
