Rebellious PR Trend Watch — June 2021
By: Rebellious Pr
Tags: Summer, Pride, Culture, Pr, Trends

Expect the Unexpected

Gemini season came in hot. It’s got us feeling a bit stirred up, but excited and ready for change. On that note, you may have noticed that we’ve evolved Trend Watch into a whole newsletter! If you’ve been a fan of our Medium articles you’ll love the newsletter for the quick TL;DR, additional social media trends and more. But don’t worry, the long form Trend Watch will still be here too (because in true Gemini fashion we like having options). Subscribe to the newsletter via the link here.

Not Surprised, Still Disappointed

It’s June, which means PRIDE Month and rainbow print everything. Unless you’re sending the proceeds of those items back to an aligned cause or otherwise contributing to the LGBTQIA+ community, KEEP IT. It’s not productive to the cause if you’re not genuinely supporting the folks you market to. The commercialization of important cultural movements like PRIDE are endangering their significance.

You can find real ways to support, highlight and participate in PRIDE as an ally via online resources and/or activism. For the LGBTQIA+ community, PRIDE celebrations are back IRL and we deserve to live it up! For many, this might be the first plunge back into the outside world, but there are still online options for those who want to take things slowly.

Juneteenth isn’t your “Day Off”

June 19th is Juneteenth, a holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States. The Senate just passed a bill making the day a federal holiday, which means that soon folks nationwide will get the day off from work and school. The real question is how will this day off be used, particularly by non-Black folks?

Many corporations were patting themselves on the back for recognizing Juneteenth (for the first time ever) last year, but giving your employees the day off is quite literally the least you could do. Again, the sentiment returns to tangible progress and action. Use Juneteenth to examine intersections of power and privilege and do your part to affirm and support the Black community.

Making Real Progress

As you may know, we started our pro-bono PR program Project Uplift a little bit over a year ago in response to the racial reckonings of 2020. We’re so excited to announce and begin working with our Q3 Project Uplift recipient Jimanekia, Founder of Tending the Garden; an online & IRL summit that seeks to bring a healing and accessible space for all sexual assault survivors, especially the marginalized.

Through Project Uplift we are able to truly show up for the communities that need it and allocate our resources to causes that are bigger than ourselves. Here at Rebellious it’s not about patting ourselves on the back (though it is important to recognize work well done); it’s about creating real and lasting change. To support more impactful pro-bono PR work consider purchasing Project Uplift merch or making a direct donation.

It’s Getting Hot in Here (Literally)

Summer officially begins on June 20th — but let’s be real, it actually started when Megan Thee Stallion returned from hiatus. We’re already feeling the heat, and on the West coast where much of our team is located, we’re preparing for a long, dry Summer. This brings up the discussion of climate change yet again and the emphasis on environmentally friendly practices.

Father’s Day falls on the same day as the Summer Solstice, so use this intersection to do something with the father figure(s) in your life that incorporates adventure and the great outdoors (while we’re still able to enjoy it). If you’re looking for last minute gift ideas, check out this gift guide from Worth featuring our client The Bitter Housewife!