Google and the Chinese government are at loggerheads…again. The crisis has been precipitated by the Chinese government hacking into the Gmail accounts of human rights activists.

Google’s democratic brand values are strongly aligned to human rights, supported by its ‘don’t be evil’ code of conduct.

Google has a dilemma with China in delivering its mission to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” as China requires censorship which is at odds with this mission. So Google has compromised with a view to influencing a change in the Chinese government’s attitude.

The way Google is responding to the Chinese governmental action is congruent with their brand values. They are living the Google brand – and so this action builds the perception of Google as an authentic company. This kind of conflict is a real test for any brand and maybe is best reflected in some comments by Ralph Larsen, former chief of J&J:

The core values embodied in our credo might be a competitive advantage, but that is not why we have them. We have them because they define for us what we stand for, and we hold them even if they became a competitive disadvantage.

If anything, this response shows that Google is true to their principles and is willing to risk massive market share to stay in line with their principles.  John Kennedy, a Silcon Valley reporter states that Google is No. 2 in the market and making gains on the incumbent:

Google has made impressive gains in China since July last, when it was at 30pc compared to Baidu’s 68pc,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. “Our analysis suggests that given Google’s recent strong performance, market share is certainly not the reason behind its threat to leave China at this time.

Google’s response to the Chinese government’s control over human rights campaigners isn’t actually activist in itself but true to the Google brand. The impact has yet to be seen, but this could well turn out to be an example of where a company has more sociopolitical influence than government, especially as Google ranks widely as the world’s most influential brand.

Their response is considered and leaves the door open for the Chinese government whilst flagging that they’re not going to allow their own values to be subverted.

While this ad is overtly American in style, it does remain true to the J&J credo written in 1943. Unusually, their credo dictates a hierarchy of different stakeholders that the company serves, putting patients at the top and investors at the bottom:

1. Doctors, nurses & patients
2. Suppliers & distributors
3. Employees, their families & the environment
4. Stockholders & the J&J business

The video comes from a well managed YouTube channel devoted to demonstrating the caring values of the brand and talking about products.

J&J Bonding Tip

Many brands around the world speak about care in their brand narratives – especially in the biotech industry. It’s not fair to say that all others pale by comparison, but few companies have been so consistent with a care message as Johnson & Johnson.

J&J has consistently focused on notions of the family, lifestyle improvement, the responsibility we have toward one another and an appreciation of the bonds between people.  J&J most dramatically demonstrated the hierarchy of needs and the responsibility they feel for society during the Tylenol cyanide murders when they pulled all bottles off the shelves within 48 hours worldwide after it was discovered that someone had tampered with bottles in Chicago tainting them with cyanide. J&J was praised for their rapid response and global breadth of action.

It’s worth noting that a care-narrative is really about defining a feeling of responsibility. It’s tempting to promote this as a feeling comparable to the moments of pleasure between parent and child. It’s probably most accurately defined when talking about changes in lifestyle as a time when our concerns shift and we need to consider others before ourselves (or appreciate others for doing the same). This thought brings us back to the J&J credo and the order in which the stakeholders are placed, putting all others in society before J&J and its investors.

The paper that outlines our civil branding effort and explains a technique for creating more civil brands is now ready for download. Inside, you will find the following:

[1] Synopsis of the civil branding idea and its importance to marketers and society.
[2] Step-by-step process for creating more differentiated, more civil brands.
[3] Case studies from Citibank, Dove, Benetton, HSBC and others.

+ Download here