Marketing and Minority Civil Rights: The Case of Amendment 2 and the Colorado Boycott

Abstract

The position marketers adopt on minority civil rights issues can have significant economic consequences. Consequently, marketers are faced with the complex task of ascertaining whether and how to adopt a position on particular minority civil rights legislations, while trying to gauge the effect of that position on their stakeholders and profits. The author examines the confluence of marketing and minority civil rights by considering the case of Amendment 2 and the ensuing Colorado boycott. He traces the events that led up to Amendment 2, describes the consumer backlash that followed, and assesses the economic impact of the boycott. He then discusses the lessons proffered by the Colorado case to marketers regarding their involvement and possible role in this domain of public policy.

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