Opportunistic or relevant brand? How context independence and past coherence shape the effectiveness of brand activism and its positive effect

Abstract

Today, more and more brands aspire to transcend their primary function and have a positive impact on society. Brand activism — the appropriation by a brand of sociopolitical issues — is proving to be a relevant avenue for a brand to positively influence mentalities, but this strategy is not without risk. Inconsistency in the effects of activism is noted in the literature, and certain factors seem to moderate reactions. This paper is rooted in current events and proposes two factors frequently observed in activism strategies but not empirically tested until now. More specifically, it evaluates, via an online experiment, the influence of context-related (contextual independence/dependence) and brand-related (past consistency/inconsistency) factors on consumer responses, namely, attitude towards the brand, perceived opportunism and perceived social relevance. The results suggest that consumers’ judgements differ according to brand, context and past initiatives and suggest the moderating effect of personal awareness of the issue.