More than a marketing message: living values on Juneteenth and every day

More than a marketing message: living values on Juneteenth and every day

By Beth Cooper, JD / MBA

At KNB, we don’t just market our values—we live them. Every day.

The year before Juneteenth was recognized as a federal holiday, our leadership made it a paid day off. KNB’s President sent an internal note acknowledging its significance, encouraging rest, and offering space for reflection. Not for optics. For alignment. That decision reflected something deeper: our “OPT-In” values of Openness, Passion, Teamwork, and Innovation.

In today’s environment, how you behave internally defines how your brand is received externally. Marketing alone can’t carry trust. Consistency must start behind the scenes.

Living your values is the root of authenticity

I often hear fellow marketers express a real tension—that no matter your intentions or what you say, it can feel like the wrong move. 

We spend so much time in marketing talking about authenticity. Often in the context of tone, positioning, and resonating with audiences. The answer to appearing authentic isn’t more clever messaging; it’s living your values internally so that your external voice is simply a reflection of your truth. When your culture and communications align, authenticity isn’t something you have to craft; it’s something you convey.

If you don’t live your marketing values, people will be able to tell. Your employees know. Your clients know. The public eventually knows, too.

I’ve definitely worked in places where the messaging didn’t match the culture. It’s exhausting. It’s the actual definition of being performative. But most of all, it’s not effective. You can’t market your way into credibility. You have to earn it by how you show up every day.

What companies can learn from the BarkBox backlash

While unrelated to Juneteenth, it’s certainly a case study in marketing-value misalignment. Earlier this month, BarkBox made headlines after an internal memo leaked showing they paused Pride marketing due to political sensitivities. The backlash was swift. Customers called out the inconsistency—loudly— and leadership apologized. But the damage was done.

That leak became a moment of reckoning because the internal hesitation clashed with their public brand. It revealed an element of hypocrisy. And audiences responded accordingly.

It’s a cautionary tale for any organization: if your internal actions don’t match your external messaging, you run the risk of having that gap exposed..

Values build culture—and it’s the culture that builds trust

What is a brand but the people who comprise it? The public doesn’t trust a faceless corporation; it builds that relationship with the humans who work in furtherance of its mission. 

Let me go ahead and leak an excerpt from an internal memo from KNB leadership regarding PTO for Juneteenth: 

“Recognizing Juneteenth is a natural extension of our values at KNB—openness, passion, teamwork, and innovation. Our work in healthcare communications is rooted in a belief that we can help make the world better. That starts with how we show up for each other. At KNB, we have always promoted an inclusive culture, multiple perspectives, and openness among our team, extended network, clients, and partners.”

When leadership practices what they preach, it shapes everything. I feel more motivated, more seen, and more willing to bring my full self to work. That energy ripples outward—to the way we treat our clients, tell stories, and measure success.

Marketing starts with internal truth

In PR and marketing, we’re trained to tell the best version of the truth. But in today’s landscape, that version better be grounded in reality. Otherwise, people will see through it. They’ll scroll past it. Worse—they’ll stop trusting you.

Juneteenth, Pride, Women’s History Month. These periods of reflection must never be treated as branding opportunities. It’s also not the time to stay silent just because someone labels a topic as “political.” They’re cultural touchpoints that give companies a chance to show what they stand for. Use your corporate values as your compass, take a position that reflects them, and support it both visibly and consistently. Just be sure you’ve taken that stance well before the social posts go live.  

It matters to employees, too

As a millennial, I’ve come of age in a workplace culture that demands more from companies than ping pong tables and kombucha. I want to work somewhere that walks its talk—where ethics and true humanity are built into the business model.

And I’m not alone. Increasingly, top talent chooses workplaces where values are a lived experience. Where actions match messages.

And of course, a Juneteenth observance goes well beyond a paid day off. But to me, it was a good starting example of when a company acts in accordance with what it says it believes. Am I certain we’re getting Juneteenth exactly right? No! And that’s okay. Our lived value of openness means we’re always willing to listen, learn, and pivot when we’re given a new perspective. That’s how growth happens, and it’s with that mindset we honor the spirit of the day. 

Closing thought

At KNB, we talk about moving minds in healthcare. But before we can do that, we move ourselves. Toward more integrity, more alignment, and more accountability. And that’s what makes the work real.

Wishing everyone a meaningful Juneteenth with time for reflection, recognition, and continued commitment to equity and progress.