A famous demonstration of how people can punish brands who are perceived to undermine causes took place when Uber was judged to be profiting from a New York taxi drivers’ protest against president Donald Trump’s ban on entry of citizens from a number of Muslim-majority countries in 2017.
The company apologised publicly and denied it had targeted the strike, but in a matter of days, 200,000 people deleted their Uber accounts. Rival company Lyft for the first time surpassed it in app downloads.
Getty Images“The consumer wants brands that will step in and step up in a range of issues that include human rights and global warming to name a few,” Adam Stones, an Amsterdam-based communication strategist, explains. “But companies need to practice what they preach or their message will be viewed as disrespectful.”
