How to stay apolitical in our polarized era
Brand managers and PR experts want to avoid choosing a side, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be dragged into the political scrum. Here’s how you can safeguard your organization.
For many brand managers in 2019, there’s no way to avoid the third rail of American life: politics.
SoulCycle and Equinox found this out the hard way last week after reports of an investor and owner hosting a big fundraiser for Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
When news broke this week that the billionaire who owns the parent company of luxury gym Equinox and fitness company SoulCycle was hosting a fundraiser for President Trump, the fitness community — and more specifically, the LGBTQ community — did not take to it kindly.
Calls for boycotts and gym membership cancellations spread online, and on Friday afternoon — the day of the fundraiser — dozens of protesters gathered outside the gym’s West Hollywood branch, holding signs that read “SoulCycle has no soul” and “Equinox supports a white supremacist.” Cars inching along a congested Sunset Boulevard honked a cacophony of support.
Both companies—which have won over customers with progressive, socially conscious branding—tried to find distance between their operations and the political views of their investor.
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