Making brand activism successful: How advice-giving can boost support behavior and reap benefits for the brand

Abstract

Brand activism, i.e., taking a public stance towards sociopolitical issues, is a controversial strategic marketing tool for firms. Prior work shows that at best, it has no significant positive impact on consumer support and outcomes for brands. In this research, we propose and explore how advice-giving impacts consumer brand activism support and brand liking. Across four studies we find that advice-giving leads to more successful brand activism by increasing brand activism support behavior, and also has benefits for the brand. We show that advice-giving drives higher levels of normative influence which leads to higher brand activism support behavior. We also study a boundary condition and show that even when brands do not follow consumers’ advice, advice-giving has no negative behavioral and attitudinal consequences for the brand. Overall, we contribute to literature on brand activism and advice-giving and help marketers in strategically and effectively designing their brand activism activities.