Activist brands: exploring the boundaries of controversy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Recent events triggered consumer outrage towards brands taking a stand on controversial matters. However, the response to low controversial topics marketing's definition of controversy requires an understanding of consumers' subjective perceptions shaped by cognitive processes, emotions, experiences, and cultural backgrounds. Subjectivity influences consumer behavior, while cognitive processing facilitates information comprehension. An experimental study using controversy level and brand presence as independent variables and consumer perceptions as dependent variables revealed that consumers associate branded content with irritation. A statistically significant interaction indicated that controversial topics are perceived as more disturbing with brand presence, while noncontroversial topics are more disturbing without a brand.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEffective Digital Marketing for Improving Society Behavior Toward DEI and SDGs
PublisherIGI Global
Pages143-153
Number of pages11
ISBN (Electronic)9781668489864
ISBN (Print)9781668489840
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Nov 2023

Keywords

  • COMMUNICATION
  • MARKETING
  • BRAND MANAGEMENT
  • CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

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