Brands Taking a Stand: Authentic Brand Activism or Woke Washing?

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dc.contributor.authorVredenburg J
dc.contributor.authorKapitan S
dc.contributor.authorSpry A
dc.contributor.authorKemper, Joya A.
dc.date.accessioned2023-07-26T02:37:37Z
dc.date.available2023-07-26T02:37:37Z
dc.date.issued2020en
dc.date.updated2022-10-09T22:21:08Z
dc.description.abstractIn today’s marketplace, consumers want brands to take a stand on sociopolitical issues. When brands match activist messaging, purpose, and values with prosocial corporate practice, they engage in authentic brand activism, creating the most potential for social change and the largest gains in brand equity. In contrast, brands that detach their activist messaging from their purpose, values, and practice are enacting inauthentic brand activism through the practice of “woke washing,” potentially misleading consumers with their claims, damaging both their brand equity and potential for social change. First, the authors draw on theory to inform a typology of brand activism to determine how, and when, a brand engaging with a sociopolitical cause can be viewed as authentic. Second, a theory-driven framework identifies moderate, optimal incongruence between brand and cause as a boundary condition, showing how brand activists may strengthen outcomes in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Third, the authors explore important policy and practice implications for current and aspiring brand activists, from specific brand-level standards in marketing efforts to third-party certifications and public sector partnerships.en
dc.identifier.citationVredenburg J, Kapitan S, Spry A, Kemper JA (2020). Brands Taking a Stand: Authentic Brand Activism or Woke Washing?. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing. 39(4). 444-460.en
dc.identifier.doihttp://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620947359
dc.identifier.issn0743-9156
dc.identifier.issn1547-7207
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10092/105765
dc.languageen
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSAGE Publicationsen
dc.rightsAll rights reserved unless otherwise stateden
dc.rights.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651en
dc.subjectauthentic brand activismen
dc.subjectauthenticityen
dc.subjectwoke washingen
dc.subjectpurpose driven organizationsen
dc.subjectbrand purposeen
dc.subjectbrandingen
dc.subjectpolitical advocacyen
dc.subjectprosocial consumptionen
dc.subject.anzsrc11 Medical and Health Sciencesen
dc.subject.anzsrc15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Servicesen
dc.subject.anzsrc16 Studies in Human Societyen
dc.subject.anzsrcFields of Research::35 - Commerce, management, tourism and services::3506 - Marketingen
dc.titleBrands Taking a Stand: Authentic Brand Activism or Woke Washing?en
dc.typeJournal Articleen
uc.collegeUC Business School
uc.departmentManagement, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
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