Netflix, Amazon, Disney among top donors to LA wildfire recovery

The news: The Los Angeles wildfires have triggered an unprecedented wave of corporate donations, with media giants Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery collectively pledging tens of millions in disaster relief.

Corporate response: Major companies are mobilizing significant resources:

• Some leading Hollywood players are mobilizing significant resources. Netflix and Comcast have each committed $10 million to firefighting and community support; Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have pledged $15 million each for response and rebuilding; and Fox has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross.
• Retail giants are stepping up as well: Amazon has contributed $10 million while deploying emergency supplies, Walmart and Kroger have pledged $2.5 million and $1 million, respectively, and Tyson Foods has dispatched its disaster relief team with meals and water.
• Entertainers are also highly engaged: Beyoncé's BeyGood Foundation has committed $2.5 million, actor Jamie Lee Curtis has pledged $1 million, and Paris Hilton has launched an emergency fund that has raised $800,000 to date.

Will it work? Celebrity and brand responses to the LA wildfires reveal complex relationships between cause-related messaging and consumers’ views.

• While many consumers prioritize price in shopping decisions, corporate disaster response allows retailers to show support for local communities—a factor that influences 14% of shoppers' decisions.
• While 46% of social media users prefer brands avoid political statements, celebrity contributions have effectively raised awareness by focusing on charitable causes, which only 15% of users oppose as a topic, per Hootsuite.
• Environmental causes are opposed by only 12% of users in that Hootsuite study, but just 3% of US consumers think influencers are effective at promoting sustainability and environmental causes.
• At the same time, social media users value honesty (67%), authenticity (61%), and relatability (52%) in influencer content—all traits that have been on display during this crisis.

Our take: The Los Angeles wildfires reflect a broader climate crisis, as the frequency of US natural disasters increased 319% between 2003 and 2023, with wildfire incidents alone rising 33%.

And while climate change is ranked as the top threat to American public health by 5% of respondents in a recent Ipsos study, issues such as obesity (20%) and mental health (18%) dramatically outpaced it. Should the frequency of climate-related disasters continue to accelerate, that 5% could start creeping up—and brands should be ready to meaningfully engage on the topic.