Selling change for the social good? Assessing stakeholder responses to brand activism
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the Arts London
Department Name: Research Management
Abstract
There is a growing mistrust in established institutions to address societal issues and people are looking towards business to future their ideological beliefs (Edelman, 2022). Brand activism (BA) refers to brands' adoption of social and political activism within marketing campaigns (Sarkar and Kotler, 2018). Companies can, and do, advance social causes due to their scale, yet are always influenced by commercial objectives that shape how issues are engaged with.
This is a techne-funded collaborative doctoral award project, and with the support of the project partners (Unilever, The Branded Content Marketing Association and GOOD Agency), this study will focus on BA campaigns (from European, North American and MENA markets) that promote the identity and empowerment of women and girls through fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). In campaigns where those who identify as trans and non-binary are present, representations of these groups will be included in the analysis.
Research Question
How do brand activism campaigns and activist stakeholders interact during the campaign production process and after the campaign launch?
a) How are critical success factors identified, articulated, measured and assessed by different stakeholders?
b) How do brands choose causes that reflect their own internal and brand values?
c) How do social movement and civil society actors receive and react to brand activism?
d) How do brands assess and engage with these responses?
"Stakeholders" are currently defined as consumers, employees, NGOs, charities, educators, community leaders and activists but may change.
This is a techne-funded collaborative doctoral award project, and with the support of the project partners (Unilever, The Branded Content Marketing Association and GOOD Agency), this study will focus on BA campaigns (from European, North American and MENA markets) that promote the identity and empowerment of women and girls through fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). In campaigns where those who identify as trans and non-binary are present, representations of these groups will be included in the analysis.
Research Question
How do brand activism campaigns and activist stakeholders interact during the campaign production process and after the campaign launch?
a) How are critical success factors identified, articulated, measured and assessed by different stakeholders?
b) How do brands choose causes that reflect their own internal and brand values?
c) How do social movement and civil society actors receive and react to brand activism?
d) How do brands assess and engage with these responses?
"Stakeholders" are currently defined as consumers, employees, NGOs, charities, educators, community leaders and activists but may change.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jonathan James Hardy (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Katherine Ekrami (Student) |