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Last week I described how a company can only credibly undertake Marketing the Rainbow if its corporate policies are in order. That is to say: through corporate recognition, support and visibility of LGBT+ employees and their equal rights.

This is what I call Phase 1 of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I). It gives them the right to move to phase 2 (Supplier Diversity) and phase 3: Marketing and Communications. It will also debunk most claims of ‘pinkwashing’, but may of course provoke reactions from conservatives with cries of ‘WOKE’, ‘shove it down my throat’ and worse.

In the 2000s and 2010s, company policy was put in order, and from 2015 onwards (the international turning point year, read: ‘gay marriage’ in the US) it was also publicly celebrated, respected and approached.

International Coming Out Day

Shell has been paying attention to International Coming Out Day (#ICOD, October 11) on their social media for several years, but on one occasion the Dutch headquarters were illuminated at night. A Malaysian government agency even called for a boycott of Shell for this, to no avail.

Pride 2017

Shell said: “Our employees took part in Pride Parades around the world this year. From Australia to the United States, learn what it meant to them.”

At Shell, the Pride flag flies in many offices during Pride weeks and International Coming Out Day.

Amsterdam Pride 2018

During the week of Pride Amsterdam 2018 in the Netherlands, four Shell shopping stations in the area proudly wore the rainbow colors. By supporting Pride Amsterdam, Shell wanted to let its employees, partners, customers and the wider community know that they value and celebrate the freedom to be who you are.

To my surprise, this show of solidarity was met with great skepticism and qualified as ‘pinkwashing’. I wrote about Pinkwashing before (and later), but this was absolutely not the case at Shell. The campaign had no business case, they did not expect to sell 1 liter more (or less). The budget of 100,000 euros was used for visibility, celebration and support. Four petrol stations were brightened up, including a canopy, signs, coffee cups and leaflets.

The campaign was considered a success and was followed in the UK and Canada.

Fun fact: some know-it-all idiot happily tweeted about Shell ‘turning the rainbow flag upside down’ at the stations (‘they can’t even do that properly’). He made a fool of himself because the flag’s designer, Gilbert Davis, has repeatedly stated that there is no up or down because the flag was originally designed to be hung vertically from the lampposts along the San Francisco Pride route. It’s a shame that social media makes it so easy to spout negative nonsense – although it does provide discussion material, of course.

But a large oil container on their refinery site and a zebra crossing at that location also show rainbows. These locations are not accessible or visible to customers. This supported the idea that this was NOT Pinkwashing – also because Shell works hard on Diversity all year round.

Furthermore, a colorful collection of flags were placed on ‘propylene tank 306’ in Moerdijk, reflecting the backgrounds of the many Shell and contractor colleagues, with the text WELCOME TO SHELL EVERYONE. It also includes a Pride flag. This was posted on the socials by the GM of the location.

India

What should not go unnoticed is the attention that Shell also pays in countries where this is not very obvious, such as Poland, Brazil, the Philippines and India. This beautiful video was released in India last year for Pride Month, and was awarded the Workplace Pride Media Outreach of the Year Impact Award.

Recharge

Last year, the Recharge campaign ‘simply’ used a same-sex couple: both on the website and on billboards. That casualness also scores bonus points with me!

Note on Pinkwashing

There are voices who claim that companies like Shell, which also face environmental problems, use their diversity face to cover up such problems: a form of pinkwashing. Shell was charged with polluting the Niger Delta and sinking the province of Groningen. These people said that Shell had no right to use the rainbow until these problems were ‘resolved’.

In my view, pinkwashing only applies to LGBT+ behavior or treatment. It is undesirable, if not impossible, to demand a completely clean slate before ‘allowing’ a brand to do Marketing the Rainbow. We must count our blessings.

Conclusion

No matter how big and old the company is, they have a clear vision on diversity. From the highest level via HR to the shop floor. Only then could Shell legitimately use rainbows or LGBT imagery (such as same-sex couples) in their MarCom. And they have done so with full conviction, investing heavily in support and visibility – even though they started very late (the ‘easy’ year 2015). Collaboration with charities and their attention in ‘difficult countries’ gives bonus points. A sincere participant in Marketing the Rainbow and a nice 9- for their efforts.

Alfred Verhoeven is a marketer and is in the final phase of his PhD research Marketing the Rainbow.
He previously wrote for ILOVEGAY about Shell part 1, Marriott part 1 and part 2, Super Bowl Ads: What Would Jesus Do?, Zalando’s journey from activism to size-inclusive shoes, Zalando goes from controversies to hidden stories, Get woke, go broke, Spain has 6.8 billion reasons to love rainbow tourists, How Spain markets itself as rainbow destination, Everyone’s gay in Amsterdam, I Amsterdam, Gay Capital, The Ideal Traveler, Diversity & Language, Playing with Pronouns, Abercrombie & Fitch : The Rise & The Fall, Play the gayme: about SIMS and Candy Crush, Diversity in Toys, LEGO does the rainbow, Barbiemania, Bud Light and the 4 bln dollar woman, Dutch retailer HEMA loves everybody, Pronouns, About those rainbows, Alphabet soup, M&M’s and the lesbian invasion, Magnum and the lesbian wedding, Marketing the Rainbow: the process and all that came before it, Sport and (un)sportmanship,  Why you need a supplier diversity program, BeNeLux LGBTIQ+ Business Chamber (BGLBC), From B2C and B2B to B2G and G2G (oh, and G2C), The Men from Atlantis, The other kind of cruising, Booking.com, Home Deco, Haters and trolls: the ‘letter to the editor’ of the 21st century, 5 Bizarre LGBT Videos, TRANSparency, Transgender persons as a target group, Matchmaking, 5 videos that went viral, From Representation To Respect, Cultural sensitivities and social involvement in marketing, 4 reasons to practice diversity and The Rules of Market Segmentation.