Activism, Ads & Allyship: A Quantitative Study on Corporate Social Activism Communication and its effects on Consumers

Sammanfattning: This thesis identifies three distinct ways in which brands communicate their socio-political activism stance. Further it analyses the effect of these types of Corporate Socio-Political Advocacy (CSA) communication on consumer perceptions and intentions. The phenomenon of authenticity in brand activism is scarcely studied and establishing a difference in communication strategies has never been the subject of research. The empirical study focuses on variables such as authenticity, awareness of woke-washing, and CSA (racism) to finally comprehend the effect on brand perception and purchase intention. We find that the type of ad and awareness of woke-washing have a significant effect on authenticity perception as well as brand perception. We also conclude this difference is likely to depend on whether consumers align with the stance taken by the brand, as well as how the stance is communicated. This conclusion builds upon previous research conducted on brand activism and consumer-brand alignment, and the results are in line with previous studies.