Jay Z made the front page of New York Daily News today and not in a good way.
Remember yesterday I mentioned that he was receiving all sorts of media pressure to end his deal with the store when 2 million dollar civil rights cases were issued this week.
Seems like the general consensus is for Hov to walk from the Barneys deal. Am I the lone man out here? I just don’t agree.
Here are my thoughts:
Sometimes you have to stay to play.
Ever heard of that Kenny Rogers’ song “The Gambler?” Most people recall it by the famous lyrics “you gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold em?” (If you haven’t shame on you because that’s a country classic.) To put that song’s meaning into very generic terms, it suggests that you have to know when a certain action is appropriate and when it’s not. Some people may refer to it as discernment.
Boycotting has been the answer to disciplining a lot of bad behavior from big corporations. But it’s not always the answer. And in this particular instance, I don’t think it is.
For Barneys – a high-end store – Jay Z folding would have little to no impact. Minorities were never the intended audience this company was targeting. Minority dollars don’t drive the bottom line of Barneys and their dollars don’t shape the culture of its environment.
One more thing… Can I play devil’s advocate? Who exactly is boycotting Barneys? The people who never originally shopped there? That is nonsense people. You can’t boycott a store that never saw your dollars to begin with. Boycotting is primarily driven by power. You have to have leverage for boycotting to work. If you don’t have a dog in the fight, you ain’t fighting.
Jay Z’s partnering with Barneys was a foot in. By walking away he once again brings minorities right back on the outside where we were. Someone has to be inside. We can’t all be window shopping. Why not the man that has the deal with them? If I was Barneys I could care less about Al Sharpton. But I may care about the man I’m already in bed with – Jay Z. Hov was selected as a partner for a reason. Someone high-up at Barneys thought that this man had influence over his community. They thought he could change buying behavior and they were right. Instead of walking away, he needs to use that bargaining chip to bring about change.
If you’re still not on board, think about this example …
During the civil rights era, the integration of schools didn’t occur because minorities boycotted. Some families had to send their babies directly into the lion’s den – i.e. to a Caucasian majority school – for change to occur.
Yes friends, sometimes change comes from within.
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