But activist groups are utilizing branding concepts with much success. Influential examples are PETA, GreenPeace, Super PACS, ACLU, Nation Action Network, GLAAD, Family Research Council, Anti Defamation League, etc.
Believe or not, Martin Luther King, Jr. understood some aspects of branding: The media was tipped off when an event was planned so they could document how Black people were being mistreated. Although this did not influence everyone’s perceptions, the world began asking the USA a question: How can you talk of spreading democracy yet all of your citizens are NOT given access and opportunity? Its was and still is a fair criticism and it is codified in MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
So what does this have to do with the University of Missouri? Based on reading articles and tweets, this is what I have learned. (Please dont treat this article as exhaustive.)
According to Mizzou’s Black students, recent racial incidents have made them feel that their school is a hostile environment:
- The student government president said a passing pickup truck full of people shouted racial slurs at him.
- Black student organization members said a drunk white student directed racial epithets at them.
- A swastika drawn in feces was found in a dormitory bathroom.
According to these same students, UM has an ugly history of racism. This led to a campus group called Concerned Student 1950 to initiate protests. Although these incidents were not the university’s fault, they believed it is the school’s duty to respond to them. The last straw was the sense of ‘otherness’ thee experienced while protesting during the homecoming parade. Onlookers heckled them while the president sat in his car and did nothing. This lack of response led to their protests and the call for university president Tom Wolfe to resign.
Now, here is where branding comes in. Branding, according to branding expert Allen Adamson, is “the process of executing and managing the things that make people feel the way they do about your brand.”
So, how did a small group of protestors go from raising their voices to altering the world’s perception of their president who represents the UM brand? Activism isn’t new on college campuses. They come and go. So, why was this one different?
I will attempt to view this through the lens of Alina Wheeler’s book, Designing Brand Identity. In her book, she details what she calls the brand identity process:
- Research and Analysis
- Brand Strategy
- Design Concept
- Brand Expressions
- Managing Assets
Research and Analysis: Clarify mission and vision
The group, Concerned Student 1950, took its name from the year that Mizzou admitted its first African American students. The group see itself as symbolic descendants of the African Americans who gained access but who still faced open racial discrimination. This informs their worldview and beliefs.
Brand Strategy: Express mission in clear actions
Along with a list of demands, they decided when and where to protest to maximize their visibility to the university community and the media. At this point, they are attempting to control the narrative (traditional media, digital and word of mouth) and positioning themselves as the group the university has to deal with.
Design Concept: Create a visual environment
Various t-shirt designs and signs were created to carry a consistent message.
Brand Expressions: Determine how visuals are used
The group made sure to wear their tshirts regularly to spread the word and made them available for others. They also made signs that spoke specifically to the issues. The tees and signs expressed solidarity with historic racial discrimination against Black people and asked the president to resign. One shirt read on its back ‘1839 was built on my B(l)ack.’ This is the year that The University of Missouri was founded.
Managing Assets: Launch position and stick to it
Although they had a list of demands, they distilled their protests down to one: the president needs to resign. This is where others saw the clear position of Concerned Student 1950, identified with it and jumped at the opportunity to join their movement. (Let’s be honest, we dont fully know the motives of everyone who joined but they all had the same goal.)
Although the president met with the campus group to address their concerns, it was a confluence of their effective branding and activism, the economic pressure of the football team and the political stance of some university administrators and faculty that brought about not one but two resignations!
Their singular message along with a graduate student’s hunger strike equaled negative international headlines for the University of Missouri. The economic vice tightened when the football team decided to boycott their games until the president resigns forcing the university’s hand, pure and simple. According to The Washington Post, The University of Missouri athletic program generated $83.7 million last year. They stood to lose $1 million if they forfeited an upcoming game against BYU. Finally, the resignation of R. Bowen Loftin, the university’s chancellor, came on the heels of a letter from nine deans in the university stating his mishandling of this issue among others. He will step down at the end of the year. When your peers have no confidence in your leadership, your credibility is gone. How is that for political pressure?
These types of racial grievances have also popped up at Ithaca College and Yale University. Millenials, who have grown up with brands as an important part of their lives, seem adept at using branding techniques to their own ends: media (traditional and internet) engagement, compelling visuals and a simple message. This makes them a force to be reckoned as they learn to apply political and economic pressure to get results.
I am glad to see students stand up against racism. But quick success can have its own pitfalls. Will this kind of response be necessary for every racial incident? Can students empower themselves to respond creatively to the ugly face of racism without the school’s direct involvement? Is it wise to disrupt part of a school’s economic flow that will inevitably impact other students? Can a safe space and freedom of expression/speech co-exist?
MLK not only wanted full access and opportunity for African Americans. He wanted to see the nation live up to its ideals. Here is hoping these young folks see the bigger picture.:)
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