In late 2020, the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) initiated a boycott against John Deere. On the surface, this appeared to be a response to repeated declined invitations by John Deere to participate in the NBFA’s annual conference. But that was only part of it.
Systemic racism has long made it more difficult for Black people to access credit or borrow needed funds. For most farmers, borrowing is vital for upgrading equipment, implementing new technologies, and expanding land ownership. As a major agricultural lender, the NBFA alleged that John Deere did not have any measures in place to prevent these and other practices from bleeding into their company practices.
In response, John Deere announced the formation of the LEAP (Legislation, Education, Advocacy, and Production Systems) Coalition, in partnership with the National Black Growers Council and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
One of the goals of LEAP is to address issues of land ownership for Black farmers in the US. Black farmers often do not hold a legal title to the land they have worked and owned for generations. This lack of ownership is a barrier to securing credit or loans, as Black farmers don’t have land to use as collateral.
While many felt this was a solid response, the NBFA continues to urge its members to boycott John Deere. On the one hand, John Deere is taking direct action to create change in the industry. On the other, they made a pointed decision by not working with the organization who was calling them to the table.
There are many lessons to be learned from this ongoing situation. Certainly the time has come when brands can’t afford to ignore or deny long-standing policies and practices that contribute to social inequity.
But wading into the water of social activism can be scary, especially when it might seem like even major brands like John Deere just “can’t win”. However, in this new era of accountability culture, not saying anything is unlikely to save you from potential public relations missteps. Here’s what you can do to prepare and take action if your brand makes a mistake.
The best way to handle a public relations crisis is to have a team and plan in place before mistakes are made. Allocate resources for creating and regularly updating a crisis management plan (CMP). An effective CMP addresses up to 10 key factors, including a risk assessment to identify the most likely crises your company might face, an activation protocol, chain of command, key message maps, and more.
Social media can ensure that a small misstep is quickly distributed across channels, groups, and to thousands or even millions of people. Your response should be brief, empathetic, and factual. Acknowledge the issue, accept responsibility, and apologize.
Crafting an effective apology is an art unto itself. Laura Beaudin Lakhian, a linguist whose thesis research included analysis of public apologies, provides an excellent framework for evaluating statements of apology. These include identifying when you’ve employed apology avoidance strategy or other strategies that can make a statement seem less authentic.
A social media monitoring plan is invaluable for public relations management. It allows you to see and respond to potential crises in their earliest stages, as well as to measure the response to your own handling of any crisis that does occur.
After any public relations crisis, your team should debrief and examine the situation its entirety. This will allow you to better understand why the crisis occurred, what could have been done differently, and adjust your CMP accordingly.
When dealing with issues of social justice, in particular, you must include the voices of the groups that have raised concerns about your company’s practices or behaviours. It’s possible that the NBFA boycott against John Deere may have been lifted had they chosen to partner directly with the organization to address their concerns in tangible ways.
Our agricultural marketing expertise includes decades of experience in public relations management for ag brands. Let’s connect and explore how we can help.
Laura has over 25 years of leading teams and clients in business development and advancement. Specialized in Public Relations and fueled by a grass-roots passion for agriculture, Laura’s pulse on the industry and respected advisement spread across multiple industry channels— from animal health to crop production, ag financial, industry and government organizations - to name only a few.
