What happens when brands enact activism and involve themselves within the socio-political lives of their consumers? The results from a series of case studies on brand activism campaigns, show that when brands involve themselves with activism it impacts their consumers, reputation and products. A case study method was employed and this study focused on these campaigns: Patagonia “Don’t Buy this Jacket”; Ben & Jerry’s “Pecan Resist”; Cards Against Humanity “For Her”; Lush “Spy Cops”; Starbucks “Refugee programme”. The results from the case studies indicated that activism campaigns caused a polarising effect on consumers, increasing its reputation and that enacting activism through their products, impacted their brand identity. Additionally, a framework was also produced, to understand the impact of activism into brand design.
Alexa Mottram (University of Lincoln), Craig Nyarambi (University of Lincoln) and Emilio Rossi (Università degli Studi “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti – Pescara) wrote an article about this dissertation, which was published on 16th June 2023 and is available here: The Complexities of Political Engagement and Consumer Response to Woke Design | diid — disegno industriale industrial design
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