Brand Activism, the Relation and Impact on Consumer Perception: A Case Study on Nike Advertising

Abstract

Recently various brands have been promoting their products through social issues that consumers are engaging with, by moving from social corporate responsibility to leadership and harnessing the brands' power to inspire social and environmental problems and change. Whether brands are creating social leadership campaigns to raise profit margins, or because they simply care about the issues they discuss, several brands have been playing this role through their campaigns, as seen for example with brands like Nike, Under Armor, Gillette, and Uber. This paper follows the qualitative methodology by proposing an analytical study of the advertising messages and concepts through a case study of Nike advertising promoting their products through social leadership campaigns, and an analysis which aims to measure the impact of these campaigns on brand image, profit margins, and the means the social causes are being perceived by the consumers.