In today’s day and age, companies are being put under mounting pressure to be ethical and socially responsible across all of their operations (and rightly so). This show of conscience appeals to consumers, which in turn helps persuade said consumers to buy a product or service that the company offers. Furthermore, employees want to work for a business that is ethically and morally above-board (and rightly so), which is an important factor in motivating staff.

However, while this is all well and good on paper, it’s not as simple as it sounds. First of all, any charity or social element that the business involves itself in should be relevant to the business, e.g. NIKE does a lot of Corporate Social Responsibility work around schools and sports, whilst Jamie Oliver helps incorporate healthy food into the education system.

So why then, did Starbucks decide to broach the subject of “race” whilst serving coffee?

While Starbucks has said “this is the first initiative that was “the first instalment in a year-long effort designed to stimulate conversation, compassion and positive action regarding race in America.” It’s clear that customers can’t relate the campaign to the business (relating coffee to race-relations is a bit of an elaborate stretch to say the least), causing alienation towards the brand. As discussed in a previous blog where Sainsbury’s were accused of using a tragic historical event (the WWII Armistice) for financial gain, the same has happened to Starbucks. They were accused of using a fundamental, controversial and socially hot topic as a means of increasing profits. This smacks of poor research and ill-vetted planning, and so on March 22, just a week after the Race Together was launched; the company announced the end of the “Race Together” Campaign.

Here is some of the consumer backlash now:

One customer tweeted: “I get what Starbucks is trying to do, but Nah. I’m just in there trying to get a caramel macchiato.” Another example: “Starbucks is where I go to get what I need so I can have the patience for race convos at work. Please cut the #RaceTogether stuff please.”

This debacle also highlights the extreme power and reach consumers have today. Social media has given customers a platform to speak their minds—to easily call out companies if they judge a marketing campaign as flaky, naive or exploitative. Marketers need a deep understanding of their customers’ values; otherwise they can end up causing more damage than good. Marketing initiatives only work when there’s a close alignment between customer perception of the brand and the cause that the brand is supporting. This is why initiatives such as Fairtrade are strongly supported by Starbucks consumers, as there is a direct correlation between company and cause.

It appears you need more than just a noble cause when you want to make a difference; you need to make sure you carry that cause out the right way and keep it relevant to your brand. A sprinter can’t win a marathon, and it would seem a coffee shop can’t solve racism. Who’d have thought?