While 96 percent of Australians wanted brands to do some form of good, 61 percent did not support companies taking a position on social and political issues.
The majority of Australians do not want companies to get involved in politics, a new study has shown.
Advertising agency Leo Burnett Australia and the University of Technology Sydney’s (UTS) business school have released a joint survey (pdf) that studied what consumers wanted businesses to do to have a positive impact on society.
While 96 percent of the respondents believed it was important for brands to do some form of good in the world today, 61 percent did not support companies taking a position on social and political issues.
Half of those surveyed agreed that corporations should only participate in those matters if they were related to their purpose, values, and products, and a similar percentage said they would boycott a brand over its position in current wars and conflicts.
However, there was a division in the way different generations perceived the connection between businesses and politics.
Gen Z and Millennials were more supportive of corporations taking a position on and contributing to social and political issues, while most Gen X and Baby Boomers rejected the idea.
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Among the jurisdictions, New South Wales had the highest percentage of respondents supporting companies getting political at 37 percent, followed by Victoria at 24 percent and Queensland at 17 percent.
In contrast, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest approval rate of 5 percent.
Leo Burnett Australia chief strategy officer Catherine King said whether a brand decided to get involved in politics could depend on whether it wanted to satisfy the customer base or target more niche markets.
Meanwhile, the report pointed out that fostering unity was a better strategy for local businesses than creating division, as 83 percent of respondents supported investments in the local community.
“It really encourages brands to look for ways to bring people together … it does not need to be these big political statements on matters that brands particularly haven’t been involved with in the past,” she said in comments obtained by AAP.
What Customers Expect Businesses to Do
According to the report, there are many pathways for companies to leave a positive impact outside of getting political, such as treating people fairly and respectfully, having financial integrity, and doing good deeds for society and the environment.
In terms of financial integrity, fair pay, stable employment, and paying taxes were the three most significant criteria that demonstrated that a brand was doing good.
Specifically, 94 percent of Australians wanted companies to pay employees and suppliers fairly (up 11 percent from 2022), 92 percent wanted brands to provide stable and fair employment, and 91 percent wanted companies to pay taxes appropriately (up 16 percent from 2022).
Other major criteria included having zero tolerance for corruption (90 percent), not engaging in exploitation in the manufacturing process (89 percent), and focusing on creating long-term value over short-term profits (86 percent).
UTS Business School Dean Carl Rhodes raised the issue that some corporations failed to meet consumer expectations with their business practices, including minimising taxes via hiring lawyers and accountants and casualising employment.
“There’s a whole lot of stuff you can do within the law that’s not necessarily meeting up to what Australians expect,” he said in comments obtained by AAP.
A Qantas Airways plane is decorated with the logo of the 'Yes' campaign for the Voice referendum in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 14, 2023. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)The professor also noted that politicians and the media were pushing the narrative that corporations were either price-gouging capitalists or left progressives.
“There is a lot of hype and hand-wringing over so called ‘woke’ branding campaigns and superficial conclusions that lefties have co-opted the business world,” he said.
At the same time, Mr. Rhodes pointed out that many corporations did not know what their customers wanted.
“Australians want to buy from good companies. Sadly, they also believe that big businesses are failing at this. Why? Because brands are focusing on the wrong issues,” he said.
When it comes to environmental issues, 89 percent of the respondents believed that companies should reuse, recycle, and share resources to reduce their impact on the environment, while 88 percent and 87 percent wanted brands to clear oceans and waterways and reduce the use of plastic, respectively.
In terms of doing good for society, 81 percent of respondents wanted companies to support causes that work to end poverty, provide education, and learning facilities for all, as well as support human rights issues.
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