When brands take a stand against homophobia

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Institutional Communication Service

12 February 2020

Professors Luca Visconti and Francesco Lurati of Università della Svizzera italiana shared their thoughts with Ticinonews and Ticinonline on the recent Coca Cola campaign celebrating the Rainbow Nation and on the Swiss decision to terminate their cooperation with Läderach. The two brands took a stand on social inclusion, a subject that is dear to the younger generation, and that was the focus of the Federal vote on 9 February on the ban on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.  

Luca Visconti, Full professor and Director of the USI Master in Marketing and Transformative Economy, talks with ticinonews.ch about the three types of communication of Coca Cola: the communication that focuses on the product for a new launch, the campaigns to promote the iconic nature of the brand and its financial value, and lastly the communication that targets the community, aimed at creating a bond with those expressing their views as it happened for the recent vote in Switzerland. In the interview, Visconti also speaks about the geopolitical aspect of the brand, which works side by side with traditional geopolitics and, in his words, manages to “bring millions of people around certain common values, where the bond between individuals is not only the traditional political citizenship but also the emotional and ideological link with a common brand". Read the full article here.

Francesco Lurati, Professor of Corporate Communication at USI Faculty of Communication Sciences - where he is also academic director of the Master of Science in Corporate Communication - talks with tio.ch about Swiss's decision to terminate its collaboration with Läderach, given the recent statements against abortion and same-sex marriages. An inevitable decision, according to Lurati, also because Swiss targets an international clientele that is not reflected in the values expressed by the CEO of Läderach. Furthermore, this move is intended to increase SWISS's reputation and thus its level of protection in the event of future critical situations. Lurati mentions other similar examples, such as that of Barilla, which had to implement measures to remedy the damage caused by its CEO's statements against gay families. Read the full article here

 

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