Our Perspective
What this means for leaders navigating growth, change or transformation in their organisation.
The Trust Gap
Customers now treat brand convictions as part of the product, not the promotion. That’s why episodic statements ring hollow. The signal that matters is stamina: will you show up when the calendar moves on and the conversation gets hard? The Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report notes that roughly seven in ten people expect brands to take a view on social and environmental issues consistently throughout the year, not only during major campaigns. Read that as a structural shift in expectations, not a topical trend.
Trust, then, isn’t a quarterly spike; it’s an operating habit. If your stance only appears in marketing, it will be judged as marketing.
From Signals To System
The move that works is turning activism into a predictable system that guides daily choices. Think less manifesto, more management.
- Clear positions and non-negotiables, with decision rights defined across leadership, legal, and frontline teams.
- Measurable targets linked to product and procurement, so goals influence roadmaps and supplier selection.
- Supplier standards codified in contracts, with audit checkpoints and escalation paths.
- A transparent update rhythm—quarterly notes on progress, slippage, and what changes next.
This isn’t about being louder. It’s about building the plumbing that lets your organisation act the same way on a Friday afternoon as it does in a launch week.
Where Value Accrues
A year‑round system pays back in time, traction, and talent. Speed improves because teams aren’t re‑litigating the same questions; the playbook de‑risks decisions without paralysing them. Consistency builds preference because customers see movement, not marketing.
- Faster approvals and fewer reworks as positions guide creative, partnerships, and product choices.
- Stronger pricing power and conversion as proof accumulates and partners know what to expect.
- Better retention as employees see actions match words and can back them with confidence.
The commercial story is straightforward: clarity reduces friction; consistency compounds returns.
Read The Early Signals
The warning signs arrive quietly: campaigns that take longer to clear, customer service handling values issues without guidance, policy conflicts between hiring and sourcing. We often see leaders interpret these as isolated scuffles when they’re actually symptoms of a missing system.
Track a few simple leading indicators: time to approve sensitive content, the share of spend aligned to supplier standards, employee confidence in handling issue-related questions, and the cadence of public progress notes. Over time, these measures become your trust balance sheet.
Those who treat activism as operational discipline will find their brand not only better defended, but easier to grow as norms harden and attention becomes sharp, selective, and earned.
Sources:
Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report