Editor’s note: Alicia Kan is media director with ad agency interTrend, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
With social causes at the public forefront like never before, should brands take a stand? Is brand activism the smart way forward to stay relevant in consumers’ minds? Is taking sides, once frowned upon, actually good business?
Last year, Havas' Meaningful Brands reported that purpose-driven brands outperformed the stock market by 206 percent over a 10-year period and “meaningfulness” in marketing can increase share of wallet by up to nine times.
For many companies, having this hard ROI can make what was once considered a controversial position a business imperative. Before going down that path however, market research can and should determine whether a brand needs to heed this clarion call.
The subject intrigued me as a marketer so I conducted my own research using SurveyMonkey in October 2017.
The findings show that, increasingly, consumers choose brands that are aligned with their values and shed those they perceive as a mismatch.
In partnership with Malaysian market research firm Green Zebras, I polled 1,006 consumers across America about the social causes they believe in, how these affect their purchase decisions and the companies they identified as supportive of causes closest to their hearts.
The following are highlights of the study, starting with the most striking conclusion.
Switching brands
Four out of 10 consumers have switched brands because of a perceived mismatch of values.
Companies are beginning to realize – if they had not already – that there is now a moral dimension to brand choice.
More than ever, consumers are extremely aware of the power of the purse and do not hesitate in wielding it. Perhaps the most extraordinary single finding from my survey was that 43 percent of respondents have switched brands, companies or service providers “because they support movements or causes that conflict with my own.”
To businesses just wanting to operate and turn a profit, all this sounds a bit extreme, perhaps even militant. However the groundwork for such an attitude shift was being laid as far back as the 1970s.
Brand choice and personal values
The roots of conscious capitalism are often traced to Anita Rodick, founder of The Body Shop in 1976. The Body Shop was arguably the first brand to bake social activism into its corporate DNA, integrating commercial activity with what were then fringe movements such as ending animal testing. Other brands followed The Body Shop’s footsteps in the 1980s including Benetton, Patagonia and Esprit.
Social forecaster Patricia Aburdene predicted the rise of conscious capitalism in her book Mega Trends 2010, propelled in part by the collapse of Enron, serious labor and environmental violations such as those perpetrated by Chiquita Brands and the growth of socially responsible investing.
Conscious capitalism grew in step with the increasingly popular LOHAS – lifestyles of health and sustainability – which spawned interest in organic foods, alternative medicine and yoga. Companies like Starbucks, Whole Foods and Zappos represented a new type of business, one that was invested in the greater good, not just the pursuit of profit.
The explosion of social media has made the exchange of news and information possible in a nanosecond, enabling grassroots movements to coalesce at an unheard of speed in reaction to events that would never have emerged on the world stage before. Equipped with a wider world view, energized by having a voice and bolstered by their numbers online, individuals are now hyper-aware of the role they play in addressing issues and effecting change.
Ethical consumption
“The bulk of the world’s top brands either cater to or employ a diverse, urban, Millennial audience that is deeply in-tune to the social and ethical issues of our day,” said Alex Lirtsman, founding partner and chief strategist at Ready Set Rocket, in an analysis of brand activism for Interbrand. “Those audiences don’t just want their employers and favorite brands to reflect their values, they expect them to.”
Idealism also eclipses pragmatism. Twenty-eight percent of the people I surveyed said they would never buy a brand that supports causes they disagree with “even if it inconveniences me.” Only 18 percent, in comparison, said they would not stop using a value-inconsistent brand if it cost less, offered more value, had the features they needed or had no comparable alternative.
And this exercise in ethical consumption is not done alone. Twenty-three percent of respondents said family and/or friends have influenced them in buying brands “that speak to our shared values.” This vetting of worthy brands is often done online, making brand messaging critical during key stages of the customer journey.
To companies that still think social media is frivolous: Be warned that it's on social media where first – and often unshakeable – impressions are made.
Women are committed to leveraging purchase power
In breaking down the data by gender, it was apparent that women, more than men, were more exacting in ensuring that their brand choices match their values (Figure 2).
Although recent studies show that men now shop for groceries as often as women, the latter are still more likely to be the household’s primary shopper, making messaging about corporate social responsibility a relevant, necessary element in marketing.
Women are also more inclined to limit their circles to people with the same belief systems. A quarter of female respondents said it was difficult for them to “hang out or socialize with people who do not share my beliefs/values,” compared to 19 percent of male respondents.
This would not be especially significant except that 27 percent of women, in contrast to 18 percent of men, say that their choices of brands have been influenced by their family and/or friends.
Women already outnumber men on social media, are more likely to interact with brands online and are bigger consumers of news on social media platforms. Brands need to look beyond engagement metrics on female-dominated social media platforms and think: How do we use our mission and story to convert customers to advocates? How do we encourage them to introduce us to their friends and family?
Finally, the most interesting gender difference is this: For cost or convenience reasons, 23 percent of men will not stop using brands even if they clashed with their values. Only 14 percent of women agreed with this statement.
Social issues for American consumers
I created a list of social issues that hit the headlines in 2017 and asked respondents to check off those they strongly identify with (Figure 3). In general, the top social issue across age, gender, household income, educational attainment and employment status is climate change. The second is ending racism and the third is alleviating poverty.
The brands getting it right
The survey asked respondents to spontaneously mention three brands that they thought supported social issues that were meaningful to them. These were the top 20 brands that came to mind, unprompted, ranked by the volume of mentions.
- Starbucks
- Apple
- Target
- Chick-fil-A
- Whole Foods
- Amazon
- Ben & Jerry's
- Toms
- Walmart
- Nike
- Hobby Lobby
- Microsoft
- Coca-Cola
- Dove
- Costco
- Patagonia
- Credo
- Tesla
Steve Murphy, Green Zebras co-founder, observed that, “Although there are millions of brands out there, we can see that some brands have clearly stepped up to the plate in consumers' minds.”
If there ever was a textbook example, Target would be it. The retailer's corporate social responsibility thrust is a cornerstone of its brand. “Target is in an impressive spot,” said Murphy. “It's the No. 1 spontaneous mention for female respondents, and also appears to be a top-of-mind choice for the younger segment overall (ages 44 and under).”
Brand activism
But how does one get to be a Target? Should your brand even aspire to be one?
The one thing companies shouldn't do is rush out and adopt a cause for instant social justice cred. Consumers can sniff inauthenticity miles away and are not hesitant to pour scorn on perceived greenwashing.
Instead, businesses should do some soul-searching and determine whether brand activism is the right path for them or not. And researching key stakeholders – customers first and foremost – is an integral part of this process.
A combination of quantitative and qualitative research would be optimal. The former should test internal hypotheses with rigor and establish statistically relevant numbers. The most striking insights from the quantitative survey can then be explored more deeply with focus groups, in-depth interviews or other qualitative research methodologies to determine and refine the business’ next steps.
Armed with market research, any organization considering brand activism can then better answer the questions that inevitably crop up in adopting a new direction. The following are by no means complete and should serve as a template for a list customized to your business:
- What causes or movements do our customers see as naturally affiliated with our brand?
- How, specifically, should our brand(s) be involved? There is a wide range of activities involved in supporting social causes, from donating to organizing.
- What are the risks of planting our flag? These could be anything from losing a customer segment to underestimating the investment involved. As in all things business, anticipating and preparing is better than reacting.
- What do we want to achieve by our support? Absolute candor is required, e.g., “to become more relevant to younger audiences and convert them to customers.”
- How will success be measured? Establish key performance indicators and ROI.
- Will it be a company-wide mandate or optional for employees? While polling customers is key, it is important to also assess the internal buy-in for the success of this initiative.
There's no better time than now to embark on a discussion. Perhaps Mark Larson, the global head of KPMG's consumer markets and retail industry practice, summed it up best in a CMO article about corporate social responsibility:
“In a world where trust in big businesses has been eroded and social media can amplify reputational risk, it is vital that brands show they stand for more than making money.”
The brand activism survey was conducted in October 2017. This piece is based on original research published on aliciakan.com.