A Macromarketing Call to Action—Because Black Lives Matter!

Abstract

This essay poses the question do Black Lives Matter to marketing? Putting the spotlight on research in marketing reveals the multiple ways in which the field has neglected a most pressing issue of our time—structural and systemic anti-Black racism. The global rallying cry in the Black Lives Matter protests alerts us to the urgency for transformative change in all spheres including the marketing academy. Macromarketing is particularly poised to lead this change given the commitment to justice in marketing systems and concerns with the bilateral impact of marketing on society. This essay issues a call to action to re-historize the role of transatlantic slavery, for researchers to be reflective in addressing systemic racism, and for the academy to adopt anti-racist strategies to propel this scholarship from the periphery of marketing thought to its core.

Brand approaches to diversity: a typology and research agenda

“…A transformative approach is defined as brands that proactively reflect and integrate complex, diverse identities across the marketing mix (Francis, 2021; Kipnis et al , 2021; Spry et al , 2021). These brands challenge dominant perspectives and shape markets through thought leadership, often through being early to adopt the initiative and having a considerable commitment to understanding diversity more deeply (Spry et al , 2021).…”

“…In equality studies, the term performative describes approaches and perspectives contrary to transformative ones (Francis, 2021). Accordingly, we define a performative approach as a reactive, surface-level approach through singular diverse representations and/or marketing mix activities (Kipnis et al , 2021).…”

Socialização Antirracista e Consumo: A Perspectiva de Pais e Mães de Crianças Negras

“…Produções acadêmicas nacionais e internacionais sobre o racismo são ainda incipientes, diante da urgência e relevância que o tema comporta, o que pode estar relacionado, em parte, ao próprio ambiente institucional acadêmico, marcadamente elitista, branco e historicamente pautado em conhecimento eurocêntrico (Kilomba, 2019;Ribeiro, 2018;hooks, 2013). Nota-se, contudo, que a "raça" não apenas começa, paulatinamente, a adquirir maior legitimidade nos espaços institucionais de produção de conhecimento, como o racismo passa a ocupar, mesmo que timidamente, algum espaço na agenda de pesquisa na área de Consumo e Marketing (Meghji, 2020;Francis, 2020;Shoham & Gavish, 2016;Tadajewski, 2012;Douglas, 2012;Hirschman, 2001;Lamont & Molnár, 2001).…”

A Macromarketing Prescription for Covid-19: Solidarity and Care Ethics

“…A common problem revealed by the current pandemic is public policymakers' lax planning for and subsequent discounting of vulnerable and marginalized communities (Hyman, Kostyk, and Shabbir 2020). As a result, systemic racism in the U.K. and the U.S. has inflated Covid-19-related death tolls among "overexposed, underprotected, stigmatised and overlooked" BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) community members (Syal 2020), a concern increasingly voiced by the marketing community (e.g., Grier and Poole 2020;Francis 2020). The naturalization of necropolitical policies-i.e., rules for deciding who should live and die-associated with ageism and ableism, especially within BAME communities-is also of growing concern (e.g., Gržinić 2020;de Jesus 2020, Morgan 2020.…”