Brand activism as a marketing strategy addressing the 21st century consumer: A study based on advertising professionals and the consumer

Daha sonra doldurThe concept of brand activism, which lies at the intersection of the 21st century consumer and postmodern marketing, has found its place in many academic studies in recent years. During the topic determination phase for this study, it was thought that the concept of brand activism, which attracts attention with examples of brands, should be discussed comprehensively, so research began to be carried out on the concept. When the studies on the subject are examined, it has been determined that there are optimistic and pessimistic perspectives on brand activism, but the subject is not approached from an holistic framework. For this reason, the main purpose of the relevant study is to create data that will allow looking at brand activism from a third lens. In the study, in which advertising professionals and consumers who carry out their work intertwined with brand activism were selected as samples, analysis techniques suitable for the dynamics of two separate sample groups were used. The study, which adopted a mixed method, compiled the opinions of advertising professionals who are optimistic about brand activism and consumers who are hesitant and skeptical about the concept. Similar and different points of the two sample groups' views and conceptual approaches about brand activism were separated, and a holistic perspective framework was drawn from the resulting data. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with advertising professionals and survey data from consumers have shown that both groups want to keep brands away from risky topics - especially politics. Advertising professionals and consumers, who differ on the reasons for brand activism, agreed that brands should be consistent in their actions and be solution-oriented.