Let’s stop pretending.
Brand loyalty isn’t dead because consumers are flaky — it’s dead because corporate leadership killed it.
The companies we used to believe in?
They outsourced our jobs, raised prices, froze wages, and slapped a rainbow logo on it during Pride Month. They sponsored a food drive for employees… at their own warehouses.
And now, in the middle of a financial crunch where half the country is living paycheck to paycheck, we have to ask:
Who, specifically, is running these companies?
And what the hell are they doing to lift us out of this mess?
Because it’s not just the government that can move the needle.
CEOs can raise wages tomorrow.
Boards can cap pay ratios and reinvest in people today.
Founders can stop chasing “burn rate glory” and actually build sustainable ecosystems.
So let’s shine a light — not on which brand made the cutest Super Bowl ad — but on which leaders are using their power to do something real.
The Stakes:
• Corporate profits are at an all-time high.
• Wages, adjusted for inflation, are flatlining.
• Stock buybacks are booming.
• Essential workers are treated as disposable.
And yet… we’re still being told to “tighten our belts.”
Who tightened theirs in the C-suite?
Who took a pay cut instead of laying people off?
Who decided NOT to raise prices just because they could?
Very few. But those who did? They deserve attention.
What Real Leadership Looks Like:
• Dan Price (former CEO of Gravity Payments) raised all employee salaries to $70K minimum and slashed his own to match. He got mocked by CNBC — then his company tripled revenue.
• Yvon Chouinard gave away Patagonia to fight climate change. The brand now has deeper loyalty than most politicians.
• Some co-ops, like Publix or WinCo, pay dividends to employees and treat them like owners. They’re not unicorns — they’re just built different.
Meanwhile, most companies are run by people whose compensation packages are tied to stock performance, not employee well-being.
Your raise is a rounding error in their stock options.
CEOs: You Can Literally Fix This
Let’s stop pretending this is hard.
You have the power to:
✅ Raise wages
✅ Freeze executive bonuses
✅ End meaningless performance reviews
✅ Give workers ownership stakes
✅ Cut unnecessary layers of middle management
✅ Actually listen
And you’d still be rich.
We’re not asking you to become a monk. Just stop hoarding while the people making your brand possible drown in rent, debt, and student loans.
Investors, Boards, and VCs: You’re Not Off the Hook
You greenlight this.
You reward the layoffs.
You create incentives for short-term gains over long-term resilience.
If you’re looking for “visionary founders,” look for the ones who can build companies that pay people well, serve customers with integrity, and don’t collapse when interest rates shift 0.5%.
The New Brand Loyalty
It’s not about mascots or mission statements anymore.
We’re loyal to the companies that show up when it’s hard:
• That kept staff on during COVID
• That raised wages without being forced
• That chose people over press releases
The rest?
You’re not “too big to fail.” You’re just one bad TikTok away from irrelevance. And frankly, some of you should be irrelevant.
TL;DR:
Brand loyalty didn’t die — it evolved.
It’s not about aesthetics anymore. It’s about ethics.
So next time you see a company flexing their values, ask:
Who’s the CEO?
What do they make?
What do their employees make?
And what are they doing to fix what’s broken?
Because we don’t need more tech bros or lifestyle gurus.
We need leaders who understand that capitalism without conscience is just chaos with a logo.
