Business and brand owners, have you ever experienced one of the following?

It’s natural to hold your breath when engagement drops, or to enter panic mode when the keenest beans ghost. We think we need to bend, mend, adjust—“the customer is always right”. Right?

If people disappear as soon as things get hard, were they ever truly with you? For you?

Is it them you should be bending backwards for, and building your brand around?

In 2018, Nike was nearly cancelled for making Colin Kaepernick the face of their Just Do It campaign. (He’s the guy who kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice in the U.S.)

Customers burnt their shoes. Cut off their logos.
The hashtag #BoycottNike trended worldwide.
Investors pulled out, and Nike’s stock plummeted the moment the ad dropped.

Amidst one of the biggest-ever brand crises, how did they respond?

Nike extended the ad on national TV—making it unmissable, as part of the NFL season opener.
They multiplied their sponsorship of Colin Kaepernick, even funding his activism.
And they ran with the tagline: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

Bold.

And then what?

A 31% surge in sales.
An all-time high stock price.
Every social media platform popping off with Gen Zs and Millennials sporting the swoosh symbol as an act of rebellion.

Their ‘communication crisis’ became a cultural phenomenon. What can we learn?

Challenges don’t break bonds—they reveal them. And a pruning, every once in a while, is healthy.

Unless you really have something to own up to, here’s what not to do in the face of public pressure:

Soften your message.
Throw incentives at the problem.
Apologise for something you shouldn’t.

In other words, scramble to overcorrect and beg people to stay, as you go into survival mode.

Remember to prioritise substance over scale.

And, look a little deeper into what’s happening to see—

Rejection is really realignment.

In my last story on loyalty, I introduced the concept of transformational relationships—explaining why factors like trust and belonging (that get people to stay) can’t be manufactured. How it’s not about product, price, convenience, or even experience, as much as it is about identity. I shared that—

Here, we see the second you compromise on your essence, you risk losing the ones who actually mattered.

Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows how belief-driven buyers are twice as likely to stay—even in crisis. Morning Consult’s research proves that loyalty often requires a little polarisation. Both explain why Nike’s tribe was being fortified, even under question.

Challenges inevitably come. Every one is an opportunity to refine who belongs.

Now that we know this, what does it take?

If your brand is facing the threat of reputational damage, what should you do?

1. Stand your ground.

Hold your position when pressure hits, instead of trying to shape-shift out of it. Let those who wish to leave, leave—and remember this is usually a good thing if you’re playing the long game.

2. Choose depth, instead of chasing reach.

Don’t confuse engagement for commitment. Measure who stays—not who reacts—and celebrate their devotion. You just discovered your core audience, congrats. Now, focus on serving them.

3. Lead through the fire, not away from it.

Address the moment proactively. Speak with earnestness. When you reinforce your purpose and you’re honest about your decisions—those who align will see you, understand you, and feel even more invested.

Here are a few more examples because I know Nike can seem like the exception:

Tesla—mocked for years as “too risky”, “too radical”, “too unrealistic”. But Elon didn’t try to win over skeptics, he built for believers (something he’s good at). Today, their customer base—and most of his followers—are made up of die-hard advocates.

LEGO—nearly collapsed in the early 2000s, from chasing trends and trying to expand into every category. Jørgen’s response? Strip everything back. Find out why people love us. Invite our biggest fans to become product developers. Next came the $8.7bn+ legacy.

The Body Shop—pressured to cut costs like competitors, but refused to compromise on cruelty-free, ethical sourcing. Leaned into activism, educated its audience, and is now a global beauty pioneer, responsible for industrywide change.

Upon reflection, these brands are all the exception. One becomes the exception by displaying an exceptional response when challenged.

By acknowledging—

By making adversity an inflection point.

How would your business shift if you chose to plant more roots, instead of cursing the storm?

Pressure doesn’t break what’s meant to be—it makes it.