Juneteenth—the day commemorating the freedom of slaves in Texas —became a moment last year for brands to engage consumers and audit their own commitments to diversity and inclusion in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. But as marketers cultivate their strategies around June 19 this year, there's a risk to appearing tone deaf, or worse. 

“Last year with the George Floyd timing being less than a month before Juneteenth, it became a bit of a moment,” says Ahmad Islam, CEO and managing partner of Ten35, an agency that specializes in reaching multicultural, millennial and Gen Z consumers. “It became a bigger deal in many ways than it had been previously as brands were looking for something to hang their hat on to start to build that relationship with the culture.”

June 19, the day that slaves in Texas were finally freed in 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, is a day many commemorate as the end of slavery. And last year, companies like Etsy, Adobe and Mondelēz International began offering June 19 as a paid holiday for employees in an effort of acknowledging the day’s significance.

Yet marketers need to be careful how they approach the day. Old Navy recently suspended a campaign it had planned around Juneteenth. Working with influencer agency Mavrck, the Gap Inc.-owned brand asked Black influencers to purchase Juneteenth T-shirts to wear in order to amplify Old Navy’s effort. The strategy was met with criticism of the clothier's attempt to profit.

“We are disappointed that this campaign outreach, conducted by an outside agency, did not reflect our provided direction, brand spirit or best practices,” a spokeswoman said in a statement. “Old Navy is inclusive by design and committed to amplifying voices that have been historically underrepresented.” She said the brand will use the earmarked funds from the campaign to collaborate with BIPOC creatives in the future.

Below, experts share advice on how brands should be handling June 19.

Do your homework

Before even considering external or internal communications about Juneteenth, brands should make sure they have a secure understanding of the date and what it represents. At Ulta Beauty, for example, the brand is keeping in mind that many view June 19 as a somber day to remember those who have lost their lives to racial injustices—not a celebration, a spokeswoman says, noting that 2021 in particular marks the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa massacre.

Ten35's Islam notes that many brands run into trouble by misunderstanding the origins of Juneteenth. It’s not a holiday, he says.

“People misinformed have looked at Juneteenth as Black Independence Day, that’s not how we look at it in the culture,” he says. “It’s more of an observance and an acknowledgement.”
 

Not the time to sell product

Marketers that try to profit off of Juneteenth by highlighting product or their own brands come across as tone-deaf and greedy, experts say. Madison Butler, who works as a consultant on issues including diversity, equity and inclusion and anti-racism for her own company Blue Haired Unicorn, likens brands misusing Juneteenth for their own gain to the plethora of black squares that popped up on Instagram last year. That social media push, which was ostensibly meant to amplify Black voices following Floyd’s death, received criticism for being mostly empty gestures that drew attention away from the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.

“I have a big problem with companies leveraging the trauma and pain of Black people to make money,” says Butler. “Of course it’s great to want to educate, but if you are not in a space where you can educate, you should not be doing it and you especially should not be doing it to make money.” She says she would rather see organizations “amplify the voices who are impacted on a day-to-day basis by oppression and marginalization” rather than push things like a T-shirt for Juneteenth or a rainbow flag during Pride Month, for example.

Use your platform to educate

Experts say that brands with large followings should use that community to engage and teach.

“It’s an opportunity to educate one’s audience—especially with bigger brands and agencies—brands should be able to use their platform to elevate Black voices,” says Ciara Strickland, a social media influencer and content creator who works as a project manager at Takumi, an influencer marketing agency.

In recent months, Ulta has been working to improve its support of Black brands and Black creators, committing $25 million this year for training initiatives and promotions of the Black community. Now, ahead of Juneteenth, the cosmetics retailer will try to use its brand to continue to educate, according to Shelley Haus, chief marketing officer. Social media marketing efforts will urge customers to donate to organizations that support the Black community or learn more about Juneteenth through certain educational resources. In addition, Ulta will engage its own employees as well.

“This straightforward approach reflects our commitment to amplify underrepresented voices and to leverage our platforms in service of helping shape how the world sees and experiences beauty—in this case, the beauty of diversity, inclusion and allyship,” says Haus.

One day only is not enough

If brands only speak to the Black community or about social justice on Juneteenth, they risk losing authenticity and appearing merely performative, experts say. Many liken the problem to Black History Month, when some brands that are silent on such issues the other 11 months of the year, decide to make a big show of new marketing campaigns featuring Black people. Brands should be vocal and supportive of the Black community on June 19 and throughout the other 364 days of the year.

“One if the biggest challenges is making sure they are doing something consistently throughout the year and not just for that given day or time frame,” says Strickland.

Review internal goals

Merrell, the hiking footwear brand, is not planning any outward-facing marketing around Juneteenth; instead, the Wolverine World Wide-owned label is using the day as a time of reflection to look back on the past year. Chief Marketing Officer Janice Tennant says Merrell will take a look at its commitments to diversity and social justice efforts and see what has been accomplished and what the brand still needs to do.

“It’s a good moment in time, especially in light of where we were one year ago, to reflect and say, ‘Did we do what we said we wanted to do and how can we learn to make more progress moving forward,’” says Tennant.

Islam agrees.

“The brands that are doing it right are using it as a moment of reflection—an opportunity to level set and set the way forward versus a snapshot or a moment in time to say, ‘Here is an opportunity to look at how we are celebrating Black culture and Black creators,” he says. Juneteenth should “be part of a much broader effort and used to reflect and even reset and recharge versus a tentpole moment."