After this whole DEI retraction debacle, I had a question—well, several questions—insert raised hand!

For at least the last five years, numerous companies marketed themselves as the brand of choice for reasons associated with three words: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. 

Companies spent enormous budgets on DEI marketing to sensitize employees, attract new talent, and appeal to consumers. We’re talking about a time period where almost every major organization touted one, if not all, of these values as the building blocks of their business. 

But unlike a temporary social media outage, this shift exposes something deeper about corporate priorities.

Now, I’m not trying to be dramatic, but this is one of the biggest flips I’ve seen since TikTok got turned off for 14 hours… I mean, bAnNeD. 

Brand Values: Just Another Marketing Gimmick?

**Proceeds to be dramatic** The cornerstone of their building. The heartbeat of their very structure. Scaled back immediately—no questions, no explanations.

This is primarily about corporate companies and their relationship with brand values. As they openly push these values in our faces like back-to-back unskippable YouTube ads—inescapable, and out of touch (that’s another post for another day).

So my question is: How many executive orders does it take to erase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from a branding kit??? 

Is this just a case of companies fearing that federal grants will be rescinded? I know there’s a lot more involved in these decisions, and I would really love to discuss this with someone who has greater insight… but for now, we speculate.

What Do Brand Values Even Mean Anymore?

In light of this, should we still consider brand values when deciding where to work or businesses to support? And let’s be realistic—the average person doesn’t have the luxury of choosing where to work based solely on company values. But they can control where they shop and who they patronize. 

I get that human values can evolve, but they aren’t plastered across our foreheads the way companies do with theirs. If the argument is that corporations should be able to change their values like people do, then let’s have that discussion. 

But witnessing the abandonment and inconsistency of these values made me realize something that escaped me for a bit:

All of this is constructed—in many instances not to create significant change but to increase consumer buy-ins. Because at the end of the day, more than anything, they want our money. 

According to Consumer Goods Technology, research shows that an estimated 82% of consumers are more likely to support companies that align with their personal values. But what happens when those values are dropped overnight?

The combination of conscious consumers and brand value retractions puts marketing and communications teams in limbo. How do you skate past the topic when consumers chose you for those values in the first place? Are you hoping that I value your product more than my principles? 

And maybe I’m making a bigger deal of this than it really is… But how do these companies just turn off the lights—no explanation—and expect consumers to sit with them?

Switched Off: When Corporate Values Go Dark

We have to see this for what it is. The values, the color schemes, the slogans—all curated to increase support and sales. Just because a CEO said it three times in a speech doesn’t mean they won’t abandon it tomorrow. 

But in all seriousness, don’t get hooked on a value that’s as easy to switch off as a light bulb—because some brands won’t hesitate to flip the switch without warning.

After all that work to curate a sense of community and trust between brand and consumer, I wonder how it feels to just let that go. I guess we’ll see how that plays out in the weeks to come. 

We’re already living in a time when consumers vote with their dollars. But beyond sales, what happens to the teams who carefully crafted and executed these DEI initiatives? The designers, the strategists—how do you abandon all of that? How do you abandon all of them?

More importantly, what does it say about a company when the values they claimed to be foundational turn out to be nothing more than temporary marketing tactics? Consumers are becoming more conscious about who they support and what stances organizations take on major world issues.

So maybe the real question isn’t about whether values matter in business; it’s whether we’ll keep rewarding brands that treat them as disposable.