SOCIAL

MOVEMENT
&
BRANDS

Chirag Makhija (0418/56)

INTRODUCTION Social Movement & Brands

“ When brands take a leading role to create a social

impact via their actions, it is termed as brand activism.

Brand activism consists of efforts solve social,

environmental, economic or political problems of the
society. "

Why it is important?
Historically, brands have leveraged positioning to
differentiate themselves.
Millenials today, however, are more conscious of social
issues, and have higher expectations from brands.
Brand activism is a values-driven approach and a
natural transition from marketing & corporate-driven
initiatives.
CATEGORIES Categories of Brand Activism

A brand’s initiatives and views form its image in front

of its consumers.
Brands that actively take initiatives to contribute
positively to social good are praised, while those that
impact negatively or suffer inaction are shamed.

Categories of Brand Activism

● Social Activism: Equality of opportunity and societal issues
● Economic Activism: Issues impact inequal distribution of
wealth

● Political Activism: Fighting for change

● Environmental Activism: Issues dealing with conservation of
natural resources

● Legal Activism: Fighting for change in existing unjust aws &

policies

● Business Activism: Ensuring corporate governance

APPROACH Approach to Social Issues

Inaction often is a result of fear of suffering a negative

impact to one’s brand image in the face of
controversial social issues.
Let us delve into the benefits and risks of taking
various approaches to a controversial treding social
issue

Approaches to social issues

1. Head in the Sand:
Company stays out of any political issue.

Issues: Brand risks losing relevance and trust. Consumers may

even retaliate if the issue is closely related to the company’s Uber suffered backlash due to inaction against Trump’s immigration
policies.
suposedly marketed vision or actions.
APPROACH Approach to Social Issues

Brand Vision
2. Vision
Integration of values as a moral compass to guide a
organisation’s daily activities. Most brands do this.

3. Purpose:
Tesla Vision Statement
A more proactive approach where organisations incorporate
current social issues into their marketing campaigns to raise

Brand Purpose
awareness and subtly drive social change.

4. Issues:
Brands drive communication on controversial social issues.
While this may generate a higher relevance for the brand, it may
also drive some consumers away.
Always Be a Girl purpose campaign to infuse
confidence in young girls during puberty.
Brands must carefully drive conversation forward without taking
a side, so as to not alienate a ide of the consumer base.

Issues
5. Position
Brand takes a stand on one side of a controversial issue. This
approach involves the highest risk among all discussed.
Heineken Open Your World throws light
on the political divide in the country
IMPACT Impact to Consumer Perception

A brand’s stance on a social issue can lead to a

consumer shaming or evangelising the brand.
A consumer’s response can be either:

● Boycott
Boycott is the act of refusal to buy or use a company’s
goods or servies to show opposition to its policies as
compared to the consumer’s values.
Consumer survey of impact on decision based on brand’s
● Buycott actions on social issues

Buycott refers to buying a company’s goods or services to

show a consumer’s support to its policies or practices.
Consumer activists believe that it is highly important to
show support to a company by buying from them (83%) as
compared to participating in boycotts (59%)

Country wise % of consumers who choose or boycott a

brand on its stand on societal issues
IMPACT Impact to Consumer Perception

● Support
Consumers respond poitively to brands that come out to
take the right stance in a political/social issue.

During the Trump immigration ban in 2017, people were

expecting Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick to speak out on the
issue. Uber always pitched itself as a bold company,
willing to speak out on injustice, but when people saw no
action on their part, 200,000 users uninstalled the app,
with the hashtag #DeleteUber trending.

Lyft, on the other hand, came out to vocally criticise

Trump’s order, and even donated one million dollars to the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). This led to many
people appreciating Lyft’s bold move, and thousands of
first-time users installing the app, and rating it highly on
the App Store.
OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities & Pitfalls
Opportunities
● Conscious Consumerism
There is a rise in conscious consumerism. People
consider the ethical implications of a choice before taking
a decision.

84% consumers in the UK consumer a company’s values

before a purchase. Factors such as the company’s
sustainable initiatives, political and social actions & views
hold importance. Brands that take an effort to drive
change will rank high in consumer’s preferences.

H&M Conscious: H&M’s range of sustainable fashion to

● Sustainability initiatives appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

Millennial take climate change seriously. Brands that

source and manufacture products in a way that have
minimal impact on the environment will hold significant
mind-share in future-conscious consumers
OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities & Pitfalls
Opportunities
● Gaining preference to Gen Z ● Brand Activism builds trust
70% of Gen Z is willing to pay more for a product in whose Brands that do the right ethical things gain trust and loyalty of
causes they believe in . their consumer base. Consumers that connect with the brand’s
values build an emotional rapport with the brand.
Gen Z is set to become the largest group of consumers
globally. This TG is conscious of the social initiatives brands
take, their political views, impact on environment and more –
things that weren’t important to the majority of consumers a ● Brand Activism gains exposure
decade ago.
Brands that take a strong stand on a trending issue gain
Brands have an opportunity today to build foothold into the tremendous exposure,, especially if their opinions are backed
preferences of this generation early on. By using the right up with actions,
channels and right messaging, brands can attract consumers
who share the same values as the company.
PITFALLS Opportunities & Pitfalls
Pitfalls
● Superficial Support ● Inaction/Rish-Neutral stance
Brands must make a genuine effort to contribute to the social 40% consumers prefer to buy from a company who’s CEO is
cause, rather than do lip service. Consumers can see through a willing to speak out on a issue they believe in.
brand trying to profit off a social cause under the garb of a cause- Brands that choose to consistently remain risk neutral may risk
led organisation. losing a consumer base expects a purpose-led organisation.
In Pepsi’s ad with Kendall Jenner on the Black Lives movement Consumers may even retaliate is issue is closely related to the
was heavily criticised for being ‘tone deaf’. Pepsi ended up company’s marketed vision or actions.
issuing an apology.

● Regressive Policies
When a brand takes a stance that is regressive or hurts the social
good, it might drive your consumer base away.
IDEOLOGICAL ISSUES Ideological Issues
Brands must consider the idological fit before aligning
with any social issues.

Factors:
● Does the issue align with the organisation’s vision ● How would the organisation’s support on the issue
and beliefs?
raise the brand’s image, trust and authenticity?
● Does the company’s actions, communication or ● Would it increase the willingness of customers to pay
product align with the message?
for the brand’s product?
● What is the potential benefit vs risk of aligning with ● Would it enable the organisation to attract better
the issue?
talent and improve its image among its employees?
● What is the potential risk of staying neutral on the
issue?
● What are our core customer base’s beliefs and
expectations from us?
TREND #1 Trends
Call-Out Culture:
Brands that use product names or marketing claims that
are culturally insensitive to a consumer’s beliefs or try to
profit off a social issue are often called-out on social
media for their double standards by users.
According to Sprout Social , 46% of consumers use
social to callout brands on their actions..
Fenta launched a highlighter by the product name of
Criticism against Fenta’s Geisha Chic range of highlighters
‘Geisha Chic’, which was perceived as a form of casual
racism.
Another example of marketing gone wrong is is Dior’s
Sauvage fragrance campaign. It showed a Native
American dancing in background with Johhny Depp, ,
promoting the brand.

Criticism against Dior’s Sauvage range of fragrances

TREND #2 Trends
Charitable Campaigns
Consumers expect brands to give back to the society
and contribute to charitable campaigns.
84% of consumers find it important the company they
choose contributes to charitable causes.
Brands today are choosing to not simply contribute in
donations. They are finding meaningful and impactful
ways that align with their brand’s vision. They are letting
consumers know of the impact made, and how each
purchase made by them contributes to the cause they
both believe in.
Avon UK, partnered with CoppaFeel, a charitable
organisation, to drive awareness and encourage people
to take tests regarding Breast Cancer. In 2019, it Avon launched Boob Clutch Bag to encourage people to
test regularly for breast cancer.
launched a Breast Cancer Crusade Body Lotion & Avon
Boob Clutch bag, driving huge donations for CoppaFeel.
TREND #3 Trends
Anti-Conformist Beauty
Specifically to beauty industry, brands can differentiate
themselves by rejecting to conform to traditional beauty
standards.
Brands choosing to lead the cause must ensure their
consumer base connects with the issue.
During Black Friday, some brands chose to boycott the
day to promote a more mindful way of shopping, as
opposed to the frenzy that ensues on the day.
One such brand, Deciem, chose to close down its
website on Black Friday. It declared the day as ‘a
moment of nothingness’ and encouraged shoppers to
purchase throughout November, offering 23% discount
for the entire month on the site and in-store.
King of Shaves #GiveBlackFriday campaign
Another brand, King of Shaves, launched
#GiveBackFriday campaign to donate profits obtained
from Black Friday sale to charity against poverty.
TREND #4 Trends

Political Activism:
As per Futurecast’s Getting to Know Gen Z: How The
Pivotal Generation is Different from Millennials research
report, 60% of Gen Z consumers expect brands to take
stand on societal or political issues.
Many established and emerging brands are capitalising
on the trend. HUL’s brand, TRESemmé , has chosen to
take a stand on gender pay gap issue in US with its
#WomenLeadTheWay inititative.
LEARNINGS Learnings
Brand Decisions Methodology 1. Leader of Action
Below is a map of actions a brand can take based on its current situation. Drive people to participate in the change
movement.
Has the brand supported the cause before? Principles
a. Be a Catalyst of Change
b. Lead by example
Yes No c. Share useful knowledge

Is the company willing to commit

Leader of Action
long term to the cause?

No Yes Pentagonia’s
green
demarketing
Does the brand serve a customer strategy to
Pause, Learn & Decide segment that has historically been encourage
affected by the cause? people to reduce
their
No Yes environmental
footprint on the
planet.
Take a Honest Pledge Elevate the Community
LEARNINGS Learnings
2. Elevate The Community
Principles: ShareTheMicNow:

1. Be a Platform, not a Solution: Amplify the voices of the Black women take
over popular white
community celeb accounts
2. Genuinely add value: Don’t just follow the trend.

3. Educate the masses, not just your community:

Use the voices of the community to educate the wider audience.

3. Honest Self-Review & Pledge

Look inward to change companies policies first before acting
change in the outside world. Launched by
UOMA’s Beauty,
Principles: campaign aims to
raise awareness
1.Examine your performance: Take time to evaluate your around lack of
performance Black executives in
beauty brands
2. Act inward first: Change internal policies before calling out industry.
competitors. Accept your shortcomings

3. Execute a plan to change: Walk the talk, don’t just make plans.
LEARNINGS Learnings
3. Pause, Learn & Decide
Principles:
1. Evaluate internal risks and roadblocks to change.

2. Educate yourself on next steps: Learn from experts and

customer expectations to strategize next step of decisions

NFL was criticized for their insensitive

opportunism in their statement against
Black Lives Matter.
RFERENCES References
● Impact of brand activism on the brand:
https://www.marketingjournal.org/finally-brand-activism-philip-kotler-and-
christian-sarkar/
https://www.ubermetrics-technologies.com/why-brand-activism-wins-over-
brand-
neutrality/#:~:text=Brand%20activism%2C%20in%20a%20nutshell,with%20t
he%20company's%20defined%20values.
https://www.marketingweekly.in/post/brand-activism
● Impact of taking a stand on social issues:
https://awario.com/blog/social-issues-marketing/
● Opportunities & Pitfalls:
https://www.clicky.co.uk/blog/the-growing-trend-of-brand-activism/
https://homepage.rs/en/blog-en/brand-activism-as-part-of-brand-strategy/
https://www.ubermetrics-technologies.com/why-brand-activism-wins-over-
brand-
neutrality/#:~:text=Brand%20activism%2C%20in%20a%20nutshell,with%20t
he%20company's%20defined%20values.
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/06/19/cause-marketing-best-and-
worst-brand-purpose-campaigns
● Ideological issues:
https://instapage.com/blog/what-is-brand-activism
● Trends:
https://cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Cosmetics_Business_re
veals_5_key_trends_shaping_the_rise_of_beauty_activism/161673
● Impact of emerging Social Movements:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurencoulman/2019/01/07/why-are-brands-
mimicking-social-movements/#2602f8404624
● Examples and learnings:
Brands in times of activism
https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-activism/
https://www.chiefmarketer.com/yes-brands-your-position-on-social-issues-
matters-to-consumers/
https://www.fluxtrends.com/brand-backlash-flip-side-brand-activism/
 THANKS!

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