How Kalen Allen navigates brand safety and cultural polarization in the creator economy

Those crosshairs are something Kalen Allen, actor and digital creator, knows first hand — from the backlash from a Starbucks brand deal last year amidst political boycotts and to navigating the creator economy in an increasingly polarized cultural stratosphere. Starbucks was under fire because of a dispute brought by a unionized branch, an issue that got lumped into other politically-charged boycotts online, Time reported. But fans took notice when Allen, who largely misattributes the conflict to misinformation, partnered with the brand.

“It seems like you have to be a little bit more online or up to date with how fast culture moves just to determine, yes, this is a ‘safe brand’ — a brand that I’m willing to work with versus a brand that’s [in] a little bit of hot water right now,” Allen said on a recent episode of the Digiday Podcast.

On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, Allen talks about vetting brands ahead of striking deals, the blurring lines between culture and politics and how creators maintain authenticity without alienating potential partners. 

Also on this episode, what WPP Open Pro launch says about the agency AI arms race, Reddit’s Perplexity lawsuit and the future AI framework, and the latest on the Warner Bros. Discovery possible sale. 

Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been edited for length and clarity.

Navigating brand safety and morality 

I think the hard part about that is, especially when you’re a person of color working in this industry, you’re already fighting every day for the same opportunities given to people who haven’t done half of what you’ve accomplished. So, while you’re trying to do that, you’re also trying to build your own career and thrive. Additionally, you’re discussing these brands, and this is capitalism, and I don’t know any brand that truly has a perfect record. I don’t think that’s even realistic.

Straddling the line of authenticity

That’s the hard part about this job. Not only do you live in a space where it’s just your career, but you’re also consumed by everyday people who see what you do as merely a hobby. While some might argue that’s true, I’m not debating its importance, impact, or any of that. Ultimately, a job is a job, regardless of how you obtain it. You really just have to relinquish the idea that everyone is going to like you. I think you have to accept that and make decisions that are good for you.

Starbucks fallout and always-on monitoring

For specifically that situation, it wasn’t clear what the actual boycott was or why it was happening, because there was so much mixed information. That was also why I got off Twitter. There’s so much going on here that I don’t know what [the controversy] is and it also just sounds like big old echo chambers. Now, if that had been a case of something I was aware of before I had done [the campaign] then, that would have been a different conversation.

[When you] are aware, then you are making a deliberate choice. However, when you are living in a fragmented world where you don’t know all the facts or details, and you know people may feel a certain way about it but you don’t know the extent of it, then that is a very different decision-making process.