Marketing Phenomenon: Corporate Social Activism
Candace Bozek
A recent phenomenon of interest that has been arising in the field of marketing is
the use of social activism to complement the usual messages. According to our definition of
social activism, corporate social activism is defined as efforts to direct social change
through the use of a company’s marketing efforts. The ideas behind the marketing
technique have been around for a while, but only over the last fifteen years have marketers
begun to see it as a legitimate and effective practice. Corporations all over the world are
expressing their views on popular social issues such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
(LGBT*) rights and gay marriage, women’s rights, animal rights, multiculturalism, along
with a myriad of other popular topics of debate. Corporations can participate in social
activism by using the company’s marketing functions such as public relations and
advertising to express its support for certain parties who are affected by social issues.
Expressing views on social issues within a company can help align its values with its target
markets’. This can be used effectively for socially conscious consumers who take into
account the social behaviour of the firm in their purchasing decisions. Modern consumers
are becoming more concerned with the social responsibility of corporations and how they
affect the communities around them. It offers a differentiation strategy for companies who
seek to reach consumers who are concerned with politics and social issues. This is a risky
strategy because by choosing a side, the company risks losing customers who disagree with
the social issue at hand. A few companies who have used corporate social activism in their
marketing efforts include Coca Cola (Coke), Dove, Chick-fil-A, Oreo, JCPenney, Chevy, and
many more. It is a wonder why companies continue to engage in this practice in light of
multiple large-scale controversies emerging over the last few years. However, before one
can hope to truly understand the phenomenon, it is necessary to first be clear on what the
practice involves.
Effectiveness of Corporate Social Activism
Social activism is good marketing strategy to implement if it is genuine and the
social issue aligns with the target market’s values. A brand taking a stand on a social issue
can either attract or repulse consumers depending on its stance and execution. Corporate
social activism is a marketing phenomenon that seeks to appeal to consumer’s ideal selves
and influence their attitudes to create loyal customers. By appealing to our ideal selves,
brands are capitalizing on the idea that our ideal selves will want to support important
social issues and that we want to be seen as generous. Consumers will be more attracted to
products and brands that possess what they deem as desirable attributes because products
can be seen as representative of themselves. According to The Principle of Cognitive
Consistency, consumers value harmony in their beliefs and actions and will not use
products that detract from their harmonious state. This principle encourages brands to
support social issues that the consumers feel are important.
Some products are marketed to appeal to our ideal selves and this marketing
phenomenon takes advantage of this consumer behavior. Our ideal self wants to be seen as
charitable and unprejudiced individuals and by having a brand align with its consumer
values the brand will become more profitable. A study on the effects of consumer spending
in relation to their identification with the brand indicates that the more a consumer feels
that the brand shares their values, the more money they will spend there (Netemeyer,
Heilman, Maxham, & James, 2012). Brands who align themselves with their target market’s
values will do better than brands who take an unpopular stance. For example, Coca-Cola’s
“America the Beautiful” Super Bowl commercial was effective at using social activism to
increase the company’s success. The advertisement features the traditionally American
song sung in many different languages to promote multiculturalism. Two weeks before the
advertisement, Coke’s share price was $37.82 and after the advertisement was aired the
stock price rose to $38.93 (Yahoo Finance, 2014). Higher stock prices indicate that the
company is more valuable and that consumers have supported the company and its stance.
Consumers use products to represent their values and can even consider products
to be an extension of themselves. The products that we consider representative of
ourselves are a part of our extended self and the products we use help shape our social
identity by exhibiting the brand’s beliefs and morals. The symbolic self-completion theory
states that people use products to complete themselves by displaying the symbols, or
products they want to be linked with. Corporations that take a stance on social issues risk
alienating some consumers because people will not use products that promote values that
are conflicting with their own. Chick-fil-A’s president Dave Cathy’s controversial gay
marriage comments have created a great controversy. Because of these statements, the
entire Chick-fil-A Corporation is seen as anti-LGBT* which has sparked boycotts among
consumers. Concerned consumers start boycotts because they do not support companies
that have different values than their own and do not want companies to express these
opposing views.
An attitude formed about popular brands and social issues will affect consumers’
purchasing behaviour. Attitudes can be positive or negative and vary in degree of
commitment based on the many different attributes that products and services possess.
Internalization of a brand will occur when a consumer strongly identifies with the
company’s social values. Once a brand has become internalized, it will be hard for other
brands to encourage the consumer to switch. Social issues can ignite passion in consumers
which is very effective at getting consumers to internalize a brand. Consumers who want to
seem like they have a specific set of beliefs may try to identify with a brand that has these
values and use their products to represent the attitude they find desirable. Identifying with
a brand is not as strong as internalizing a brand. The weakest form of commitment that a
brand can achieve is compliance. Attitudes also serve a value expressive function. By using
a certain brand’s products and services, the consumer is essentially aligning themselves
with the company’s values. The products and services represent what the consumer
believes and their self-concept. Taking a stand for something is an interesting way to get
consumers to internalize a specific brand and allows consumers to use the product to
represent their shared values. Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty was designed to empower
women and have them internalize the brand through the strong emotional connection to
the advertisement. Only 2% of women considered themselves beautiful in the year the
campaign started and the campaign aimed to change women’s negative perceptions about
themselves and others (Etcoff, Orbach, Scott, & D’Agostino, 2004). By getting women to feel
good about themselves, the brand shares the same values as the women. Over 64% of
consumers who have a strong relationship with a brand attribute their connection to the
shared values (Spenner & Freeman, 2012).
Social activism is effective if the company’s stance aligns with its desired consumer
markets’ stance. Appealing to consumers’ charitable ideal selves and producing products
with values that align with consumers’ moral principles make this an effective marketing
strategy for some brands. Internalization of a brand occurs when the brand and the
consumer share the same values. A strong attitude toward a brand, like internalization,
leads to profitability and success. Consumers may not use products that do not align with
their personal beliefs because products and services are representative of attitudes and
beliefs. According to the Principle of Cognitive Consistency, consumers value harmony and
are constantly trying to achieve harmony between their values and behaviours. Purchasing
products that contradict core values would lead to a state of cognitive dissonance.
Consumers seek to rectify dissonance and so will not continue to purchase products whose
values do align with theirs. Brands that support issues that consumers feel are important
through a social activism marketing campaign will do better than companies who oppose
the popular opinion in their target market.
The Rise of Corporate Social Activism
Corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly important for a brand’s
image. A Cone Cause Evolution Study found 83 percent of Americans say they wish brands
would support causes, and 41 percent have bought a product because it was associated
with a cause (Wilson, 2014). Corporate social activism is an emerging trend that is being
used by corporations to support causes that are important to the public. There are several
possible reasons for the rise of corporate social activism over the last fifteen years.
Corporations are becoming more involved in popular social issues because many of these
social issues such as LGBT* rights, equality, and multiculturalism are becoming less
controversial and there is a general acceptance of these issues in North America. There is a
lower risk today than fifteen years ago of offending people by taking a stand for a generally
accepted social issue. Another reason for the popularity of corporate social activism is the
constant media attention which sparks a global discussion of social issues. Politics are also
instrumental in the popularity of social activism, certain laws and regulations in different
countries cause people to want to get involved to direct social change. Social media has also
inspired a more open discussion of social issues. Social media serves as a platform for
people and corporations to express their opinions and share their values with the world.
In North America, support for social movements such as LGBT* rights, women’s
rights, animal rights, and multiculturalism has grown over the years. The number of these
supporters today is much greater than it was fifteen years ago. People are becoming more
open minded and accepting of people from different cultures and backgrounds. Equality for
men and women has been improving over the years and it is reflected in Canadian and
United States’ laws including the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Charter of Rights and
Freedom, the Equal Pay Act, and the Civil Rights Act (Dean, 1994). Canada legalized samesex marriage in 2005, while in the United States, seventeen states have legalized it (Dean,
1994). According to Pew Research (2012), in 2000 approximately 50% of Americans
believed that homosexuality should be accepted in society, approximately 41% said it
should be discouraged, and 9% had no opinion. In 2011, 58% of Americans believed that
homosexuality should be accepted while 33% said it should be discouraged. According to a
Washington Post/ ABC News by poll in 2011 which sampled 1,005 random adults in the
United States, support for gay marriage as risen from 32% in 2004 to 53% in 2011. Support
for multiculturalism has also risen in Canada, in 1997 only 71% of Canadians thought that
multiculturalism was important to Canadian identity compared to 88% of Canadians in
2010 (The Environics Institute, 2010). In the United States, support for multiculturalism is
not as high as in Canada but it is growing as the population becomes more diverse. The
2000 Census revealed that between 1990 and 2000, the foreign-born population increased
by 57%, while the native population increased only 9.3% (Grieco. 2001).
Corporate social activism is a rising trend as these social issues gain more and more
media attention. By getting involved in popular social issues, these corporations may also
receive media attention which can lead to free publicity. This marketing strategy sparks
positive and negative consumer reactions which creates buzz around their company. For
example, the 2014 Sochi Olympics caused controversy because of the anti-gay propaganda
law that Russia passed in 2013 which offended supporters and members of the LGBT*
community around the world. Several companies used this as an opportunity to voice their
support for the LGBT* community in their marketing campaigns. Chevrolet aired two
advertisements during the 2014 Winter Olympics featuring a gay male couple with two
children and a gay couple getting married (Anderson, 2014). Google showed its support for
gay rights during the Sochi Olympics by incorporating the LGBT* flag in its logo on the
Google home page, although the company did not explicitly state its support. Many other
companies have also expressed their support for the LGBT* community through their past
advertisements including Oreo, Gap, JCPenney, and Ben & Jerry’s (Anderssen, 2013). Each
of these companies received massive amounts of media attention after the release of their
advertisements making headlines in many news programs and newspapers such as the
Globe and Mail, ABC News, CBS News, and many more.
Social media has given a voice to corporations and the public. Coke’s “controversial”
Super Bowl commercial showed the company’s support for multiculturalism as well as the
LGBT* community because it featured a gay couple (Dunning, 2014). This advertisement
sparked the trending hashtags #SpeakAmerican and #boycottcoke which proved that
racism is still alive and well in the United States (Dunning, 2014). Social media users
around the world came to the defense of Coke sparking a global debate. Oreo received
similar backlash after the company posted a gay pride Oreo advertisement on Facebook.
The advertisement included an Oreo with rainbow filling and the word “Pride” for the 2012
gay pride parade (Burra, 2012). Within seventeen hours of its release, more than 157,000
people “liked” the image, 40,000 people shared it and 20,000 commented on it which
proves the power of social media (Bingham, 2012). Some of the comments were anti-gay
and called for a boycott of Oreo, however most of the responses were positive (Bingham,
2012).
Target Markets
These social issues affect everyone differently. When a corporation chooses a stance,
it is targeting consumers who agree with its views in the hopes that they will purchase its
goods and services to show their support for the social cause. When engaging in corporate
social activism, it is important to understand the demographics and psychographics of the
company’s target market to ensure that their opinions align with the company’s stance on a
social issue. Companies who use their marketing campaigns to support positive social
change such as LGBT* rights, women’s rights, and multiculturalism attempt to appeal to
educated, open-minded, and youthful individuals. According to the ABC News &
Washington Post Poll (2011), support for gay marriage is greatest among people living in
urban areas, with higher level educations and incomes, liberal and liberal democrat
political views, and Jewish or no religion. Corporations who make a stand for LGBT* rights
or other human rights issues are targeting consumers with these characteristics.
Companies who seek to inhibit social change are targeting traditional, religious, less
educated, and typically older (60+) consumers. For example, support for gay marriage is
lower among individuals living in rural areas, with educations of a high school diploma or
less, lower household incomes, conservative and republican political views, and those with
Protestant and Catholic religions (ABC News & Washington Post, 2011). Corporate social
activism is only a good marketing strategy if the company supports social issues that align
with its target market’s views. By choosing the “wrong” stance, a company is risking losing
its loyal customers and becoming targets of protests and boycotts.
Analysis of Corporate Social Activism
The effectiveness of a marketing phenomenon is seen through the consumer
reaction; an important factor that determines whether marketers will utilize it. When a
company supports a social cause, many psychological processes come into play when
consumers respond to these causes. These marketing campaigns aim at internal behavioral
influences of the individual and are usually used to alter an individual's perceptions and
attitudes (Wymer, 2010). From a marketing standpoint, embarking in social activism can
influence consumer’s self-concept, identity marketing, and emotions.
The ideal self is defined by how one would like to be perceived. This is brought up
by a mismatch between the actual self and the ideal self, which affects how one perceives
oneself (McLeod, 2008). Products can be used to attain the ideal self or be consistent with
the actual self. Psychologically, the ideal self is derived by social comparison theory
through aspects such as media exposure. Consumers constantly compare themselves to
others in order to determine their personal and social worth (Psychology Today, 2014). An
example of this can be seen through the presence of anorexia and distorted beauty
perceptions (Quinn, Leavy, Hesse-Biber, & Zoino, 2006). A company that has used
marketing to increase awareness of ‘real beauty’ is Dove. Nora Miller, co-founder of
Anderson Miller PR states that “people often select brands they believe in” and supporting
a social issue “showed customers that the brand believes in its customers’ well-being”
which in turn built trust (Contently, 2013). Since our ideals are a combination of how we
are perceived by others, one can infer that desirable traits are those that are desired for
relationships and mating. In a study on personality and mate preferences, it was
determined that both men and women want someone who is kind, understanding,
dependable, sociable, stable, and intelligent (Botwin, Buss, & Shackelford, 1997). The idea
of desired kindness enforces the idea of self-concept; as consumers will associate
themselves with brands that are kind and caring, and thereby support social issues.
Marketers use this concept as a means of selling their products and services.
Identity marketing is another effect that marketers use when participating in social
activism through brands. Identity marketing effectively brands consumers. The products
we choose to buy depict the buyer’s personality and the image of the purchased product
serve to represent who we are to the world. The product image is especially important to
the consumer when the ego-involvement associated with the product is high (Grubb &
Grathwohl, 1967). When a social cause is important to an individual’s self-concept, the
association of a brand with that cause will create a link in the mind of the individual
between himself, the brand, and the social cause. If the brand is associated with an image
that is desired by the consumer, the consumer may purchase the brand to gain the
product’s image as his or her identity. Eventually, the brand’s image effect is paired with
the consumer. This can be seen in Table 1 in the Appendix A showing the relationship of
the consumption of goods as symbol to the self-concept.
The idea of self-concept can lead to body image distortion and the need to change
body image to increase one’s self-concept. Dan Hilbert, worked on the original Dove Real
Beauty campaign and said from a marketer’s perspective, “there’s nothing more powerful
that a brand really owning an emotional benefit”. Participating in social activism can also
initiate intense feelings, as these social issues are usually sensitive and controversial
subjects such as sexuality, gender identity, race, disability, and religion (University of
Sheffield, 2014). Integral affective responses state that objects that bring forth pleasant
feelings are evaluated more favorably than objects that bring forth an unpleasant feeling.
Consumers tend to remember how objects made them feel. The Principle of Cognitive
Consistency elaborates on this and explains that individuals naturally seek harmony and
consistency. When individuals spot an imbalance, they will attempt to correct it (Perez,
2013). Therefore, in theory, consumers will purchase products that support their beliefs on
social issues. By this logic, if marketers use social activism to support a popular cause, sales
should increase.
Marketer’s Perspective
Marketers see social activism as an effective way to improve goodwill and drive
sales; the marketer’s ultimate goal. It is a technique that effectively sways consumers via
the use of self-concept, emotions, and identity marketing. When building an advertisement
campaign through the use of corporate social activism, marketers hope that consumers will
learn to associate the brand with the cause, and use their purchasing power to become
more active in causes that they care about. Marketers hope that this method will provide
consumers with a more accessible avenue to contribute to the cause by showing support
for companies who endorse it. The success of this strategy is determined by the social
cause that is chosen, and the company’s stance in relation to their target market’s views.
Market research is very important because the marketer must fully understand their target
market, choose a social issue that is important to both the company and the target market,
and choose a stance that will be taken favourably by the target market.
Consumer Reactions
Social issues are by their very nature controversial. Taking one stance or the other
in any debate will be sure to offend at least some subset of the population, no matter how
small. It is a wonder that companies choose to engage in corporate social activism, for fear
of losing sales in a portion of their consumer base. It must be that the benefits outweigh the
costs in such an endeavor. Most consumers behave exactly as marketers would hope in
response to social activism in marketing messages; they quickly begin to associate the
company with the message, and form their opinions about the company depending on
whether or not they agree.
However, while consumers tend to react in ways that marketers would expect,
responses to the use of this marketing technique can vary widely. In a world where many
consumers are deftly aware of marketers' potential influence on their thought processes,
use of such an obvious technique can arouse a negative response regardless of how
strongly the individual identifies with the message. Consumers may perceive the effort as a
dubious strategy to increase revenues or piggy-back on social movements for free goodwill, even if the company's intent was to promote a cause that they believe in. It is not
uncommon for members of the social movements to condemn corporate involvement in
any capacity. For example, some members of the LGBT* community have expressed
outrage at corporations attempting to make a profit by supporting the Gay Pride Parade,
saying "We are a movement, not a market... This is about pride, not profit." (Proctor-Artz,
2012). While this behaviour is not especially common, it often exists in individuals who
have the capacity to undo any positive effects on goodwill that a company's activism
activities have had. They are a vocal minority, and so it is necessary for companies to
exercise a degree of tact and caution when employing a marketing strategy which involves
social activism.
For the majority of consumers, corporate social activism creates a strong
association between the brand and the cause. The most fundamental consequence of this is
that consumers will alter their opinions of the corporation (and by extension that
corporation's goodwill) either positively or negatively depending on their views. This shift
in perception of the company can happen rapidly, as was seen in the backlash to Oreo and
JCPenney advertisements, along with many other companies in their support of the LGBT*
community for Pride Month in 2012 (Burra & Wong, 2012). The immediacy of the change
shows how readily people will change their minds on something based solely on what they
believe it stands for. Whether it is agreement or outrage, consumers will likely think of the
brand in situations that they may not have otherwise. This, in conjunction with the
tendency for emotional experience to aid in memory formation, is an indication that
corporate social activism is an effective strategy for driving exposure and brand awareness.
This is important because it ensures that the brand will be a part of the consumer's evoked
set before a purchasing decision. After all, if a brand is not in the consumer's evoked set, it
cannot be chosen in most circumstances. This phenomenon was demonstrated most aptly
when it became apparent that Chick-fil-A had actually benefitted financially and
experienced meaningful growth in the wake of the media frenzy and outrage surrounding
their stance in opposition of gay marriage (Kim, 2012). These results were surprising given
the steady increase in support for gay marriage but it is difficult to say how Chick-fil-A’s
sales will be effected in the long run. However, this example proves that offending people is
not always as detrimental to a company's performance as one might think, and that there
are clearly more subtle factors at work driving consumer behaviour.
In response to corporate social activism, consumers see a marketing message that
represent one side of a debate, and they typically associate the brand with that opinion.
Their feelings towards that particular opinion are then carried over to the brand. People
with strong negative feelings towards the viewpoint will likely refuse to do business with
the company any more, and may even publicly express their concerns. However, this
creates a possibility for new potential consumers to be introduced to the brand, provided
they share the company’s view. Most consumers, who do not hold an opinion in either
extreme, will not likely switch brands solely for this reason.
This interaction, of consumers readily associating a brand with its stated opinions, is
perhaps best explained by Balance Theory. When a person with a favourable relationship
to a brand finds that they have a conflicting view on something related to the company, the
relationship between all three is unbalanced, and this is an unstable state. Whenever a
person exists in an unbalanced state, they will do what they can to remedy the situation.
This may involve changing their opinion of the brand, changing their stance to reflect the
views of the brand (which is not likely), having the brand's view nullified (which would be
the brand backing down in the face of backlash), or severing their ties with the brand
altogether. When a consumer shares the same view as a brand, the triad is in balance and
nothing needs to change. This triad of interaction has been represented visually in
Appendix B to show balance theory in the context of corporate social activism.
The Future of Corporate Social Activism
Marketers could be more effective with using social activism as a marketing strategy
by taking a stance that aligns with their target market’s views. Companies must be genuine
in its efforts and could further its support for these social causes by donating money to
non-profit organizations that support the same social issues. Giving a portion of the
company’s revenue on each product sold is an easy way that a company can achieve a
charitable image and build a direct correlation between supporting a social cause and
supporting the company. Supporting and sponsoring events that lend publicity to social
issues like gay pride parades and 5 Days for the Homeless, is also an effective way to make
social activism a part of the company’s marketing strategy. As culture evolves, different
social issues will become more relevant. Targeting relevant social issues is the most
effective way to use social activism as a marketing strategy. It is becoming increasingly
more important for companies to be transparent with their business practices which could
lead to less social activism if companies are not entirely genuine in its support for a social
cause. As this marketing phenomenon becomes more widespread, it will become more
evident whether or not corporate social activism is a strong marketing method. Over the
next several years, companies will be able to see the long term financial effects of
companies who chose to use this marketing method and how it has affected its sales. This
will determine the direction of corporate social activism as a marketing phenomenon.
Whether or not a company is genuine in its social activism efforts is an ethical
concern. Consumers do not want to support a corporation that is not transparent in its
actions or who try to gain market share in an unethical way. It would be considered
unethical for a business to support a cause that it does not entirely agree with just because
its target market identifies with it.
Conclusion
Corporations choose to align themselves with social issues to direct social change
and to increase sales. Consumers can use the company’s products to show that they have
the same beliefs as the brand and support social issues. By purchasing the company’s goods
and services, consumers are trying to reach their ideal selves. Brands use identity
marketing and emotional appeal to target their target market. Connecting to consumers
emotionally is very powerful for a brand because consumers buy products that express
their values. By being exposed to corporate social activism, some consumers will change
their opinions on brands or social issues as consumers learn to associate certain brand
names with particular social causes. Some consumers may think that the activism is a
marketing stunt and will form a negative opinion of brands who engage in corporate social
activism. Balance Theory predicts that consumers will more readily purchase products
from corporations that share the same beliefs about social issues as them to keep
themselves in a balanced state. Corporate social activism is effective at gaining media
attention and creating controversy to generate buzz for the brand. Conversing about a
brand may lead to increased sales as people become introduced to the brand or are able to
recall the brand easier. Because this marketing strategy has been effective at attracting
media attention, it is likely to continue in the future but the strong backlash that some
companies have received may deter companies who are more risk adverse.
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Appendices
Appendix A:
Figure 1: The Relationship of the Consumption of Goods as Symbol to the Self-concept
(Grubb & Grathwohl, 1967)
Appendix B:
Figure 2: Triad of interaction to show Balance Theory in the context of corporate social activism.
Appendix C: Examples of Corporate Social Activism
Coca-Cola’s Super Bowl advertisement depicted people from different cultures singing
“America the Beautiful” in different languages to support multiculturalism. It also included a gay
couple, sparked the hashtag #speakAmerican and other racist comments. Coke also stand for
women’s rights. (Dunning, 2014).
Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty Unilever supports diversity and its advertisements are meant
to empower women with their real beauty campaign. (msceevee, 2013).
Chick-fil-A’s Dave Cathy stated support for traditional marriage, alienating its LGBT*
customers and sparking boycotts and appreciation days. (Fillmer, 2012).