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But companies are only the last to be in the hands of the public and activists because of their contributions or their political opinions.
LL Bean, Maine's leisure company, famous for its flannel shirts and canvas tote bags, has been negatively affected by some customers after Linda Bean, a member of the Bean family, as a funder of President Donald Trump. On Twitter, Trump himself encouraged his supporters to "Buy L.L. Bean".
And more recently, Nike customers have burned their shoes and cut Nike's famous "swoosh" in response to an ad campaign featuring unsigned NFL player Colin Kaepernick. He enraged Trump and the conservative supporters of the president by kneeling in the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality.
"The current environment is hyper polarized and really very toxic," said Bruce Freed, who heads the Center for Political Accountability, a non-profit organization that promotes greater political transparency in publicly traded companies.
"Consumers and employees are much more aware of what society associates with their political spending," he said. "They will move jobs or spend money for their own expenses" if they do not agree with the policy of a company.
Representatives of Land O & # 39; Lakes and Purina did not respond to CNN's interview requests Wednesday, but issued statements this week, saying that King's comments were contrary to the values of the company. # 39; company. Intel officials, who announced this weekend that they would no longer support King, declined to comment on the reasons for the company's move.
For its part, King has accused "dishonest false news" of these criticisms and said they were orchestrated to help turn the House into Democrats and blame the dismissal of Trump engineer.
As usual
The political action committees associated with businesses have long donated to King, despite the long history of racially and ethnically insane comments. (He has already stated that Mexicans had "cantaloupe-sized calves" carrying drugs across the US-Mexican border.)
King, who sits on the House Agriculture Committee, received more than a quarter of his contributions during this election cycle of PACs, including those associated with the agri-food industry, figures compiled by the government. non-partisan program of the Center for Responsive Politics.
It is therefore not surprising that a major interest in the dairy sector, such as Land O & # 39; Lakes, donate to King and the other members of a committee that helps define the agricultural policy of the country. In total, the Minnesota-based company has donated $ 12,000 to King since January 1, 2008, including $ 2,500 this year, according to the center's data.
"It makes sense for a company to give those who have jurisdiction over their problems – unless and until it becomes a responsibility," said Sheila Krumholz, who runs the center.
King provoked a stronger reaction with his recent decision to support Faith Goldy, a Toronto mayoral candidate, who espoused white nationalist views.
"Companies have got used to thinking that they would not be held responsible for that," said Legum. "These companies sell products in King's district, but also throughout the country and around the world."
"Many people feel helpless in this political environment," added Legum. Asking companies to report on their political activity "is a way for people to make their voices heard."
Know your customer
Richard Levick, CEO of LEVICK, a Washington-based public relations firm, said companies are learning to navigate successfully into a new era of politics, where a small spark on social media can quickly trigger a firestorm.
He congratulated L. L. Bean for having worked to stay on top of the fray when the controversy broke out over Linda Bean's political activity.
In a statement at the time, company leaders said that "as in most large families, the more than 50 family-owned business owners have opinions and embrace all causes of the political spectrum ".
But society itself, the statement said, is "apolitical".
"They handled it very well," said Levick. "They knew that half of their customers bought firearms and hunting and half of their customers bought Birkenstocks and went camping."
As for Nike, the ad campaign shows that it knows its audience, despite the conservative reaction, said Levick.
Online sales rose sharply after the debut of advertising for Kaepernick.
Nike sells millennia "that expect their companies to engage socially," he said, not to "60-year-old men like me who do not need # 39; buy several pairs of shoes ".
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