Contemporary Branding: Brand Activism & Social Impact
Academic Journal Articles
Mesler, Rhiannon M, Katharine Howie, Jennifer Chernishenko, Mingnan Nancy Shen, and Jessica Vredenburg (2024), “The association between political identity centrality and cancelling proclivity”, Acta Psychologica, Vol 244.
Lee, Zoe, Amanda Spry, Yuksel Ekinci, and Jessica Vredenburg (2023), “From warmth to warrior: Impacts of non-profit brand activism on brand bravery, brand hypocrisy and brand equity”, Journal of Brand Management (ahead-of-print).
Kapitan, Sommer, Joya Kemper, Jessica Vredenburg, and Amanda Spry (2022), “Strategic B2B Brand Activism: Building Conscientious Purpose for Social Impact”, Industrial Marketing Management, 107, 14-28.
Spry, Amanda, Bernardo Figueiredo, Lauren Gurrieri, Joya Kemper, and Jessica Vredenburg (2021), “Transformative Branding: A Dynamic Capability to Challenge the Dominant Social Paradigm”, Journal of Macromarketing, 41(4), 531-546.
Vredenburg, Jessica, Sommer Kapitan, Amanda Spry, and Joya Kemper (2020), “Brands Taking a Stand: Authentic Brand Activism or Woke Washing?” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(4), 444-460.
Orazi, Davide C., Amanda Spry, Max N. Theilacker, and Jessica Vredenburg (2017), “A Multi-stakeholder IMC Framework for Networked Brand Identity,” European Journal of Marketing, 5(3), 551-571
Academic Book Chapters
Lewis, Natasha and Jessica Vredenburg (2023), “Contemporary Consumption of Brand Activism”. In K. Bäckström, C. Egan-Wyer & E. Samsioe (Eds.), The Future of Consumption: How Technology, Sustainability and Wellbeing will Transform Retail and Customer Experience (chapter 17), Springer International Publishing.
Vredenburg, Jessica, and Amanda Spry (2022), “Consumer Activism and Social Movements”. In K. Kubacki, L. Parker, C., Domegan, & L. Brennan (Eds.) The Routledge Companion to Marketing and Society. Routledge.
Expert Analysis Articles
Lee, Zoe, Amanda Spry, and Jessica Vredenburg (2024), “The Body Shop shouldn’t have failed in an age when consumers want activism from their brands. What happened?”, The Conversation.
Lee, Zoe, Amanda Spry, and Jessica Vredenburg (2023), “When charities engage in ‘brand activism’, research shows they must demonstrate bravery to attract donations”, The Conversation.
Vredenburg, Jessica, Katharine Howie, and Rhiannon M. Mesler (2022), “Brands can be rewarded for social activism – but they also risk losing customers to apolitical rivals”, The Conversation.
Spry, Amanda, Bernardo Figueiredo, Jessica Vredenburg, Joya Kemper, and Lauren Gurrieri (2021), “Consumers are wise to ‘woke washing’ – but truly ‘transformative branding’ can still make a difference,” The Conversation.
Kapitan, Sommer, Amanda Spry, Jessica Vredenburg, and Joya Kemper (2020), “Brand activism is moving up the supply chain — corporate accountability or commercial censorship?” The Conversation.
Vredenburg, Jessica, Amanda Spry, Joya Kemper, and Sommer Kapitan (2020), “Athlete activism or corporate woke washing? Getting it right in the age of Black Lives Matter is a tough game,” The Conversation.
Vredenburg, Jessica, Amanda Spry, Joya Kemper, and Sommer Kapitan (2019), “Post Gillette: other brands are better at matching practice with talk, but don’t get the publicity,” The Conversation.
Vredenburg, Jessica, Amanda Spry, Joya Kemper, and Sommer Kapitan (2018), “Woke washing: what happens when marketing communications don’t match corporate practice,” The Conversation.
TV
October 26, 2022
Interview with Newshub regarding superbrand Adidas (and others) cutting ties with Kanye West ('Ye') over harmful antisemitic remarks. Touching on notions of brand partnerships & transfer of associations, importance of brand purpose and public platforms as facilitators of anti-social behaviour but also self-regulation.
August 17, 2020
I had the pleasure of talking to John Campbell on TVNZ’s Breakfast show about my current co-authored research on brand activism and purpose. When properly executed brand purpose & activism can inform and move culture forward in positive ways, finding meaningful roles for brands in society, but when brands begin speaking more about culture than their role in it they risk being perceived as woke washing.
May 17, 2021
I spoke to Newshub reporter Dianna Vezich about marketing and branding's role in the plant-based movement for TV 3's 6pm news.
September 23, 2019
Consumers are increasingly preferring to purchase with companies whose values align with their own, in particular when it comes to the environment. I spoke to Pippa Wetzell about this for TVNZ's FairGo program segment on 'Good Wrap'.
August 5, 2019
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has gained worldwide recognition thanks to her progressive and accessible style of leadership. But how her brand is perceived domestically versus internationally is quite different. I discussed this phenomenon with Breakfast host Hayley Holt.
March 1, 2019
How well brands align their messaging and practice as well as which causes they seek to engage with are key for positive consumer perceptions of this practice. I discussed this with Hayley Holt on TVNZ's Breakfast show.
December 6, 2018
Commenting for Newshub on the possible sale of iconic kiwi ice cream brand Tip Top. Discussing what this brand means to New Zealanders and how foreign ownership might affect these brand perceptions.
November 1, 2018
Meghan Markle is a human brand with wide reach as an actress and blogger before becoming a Duchess. Her relatability further reinforces her position as an influencer, helping to change perceptions of the Royal Family while also using her platform to encourage positive social change. I talked the ‘Markle effect’ with TVNZ Breakfast show presenter Matty McLean.
October 3, 2018
Why do companies rebrand? Recently Dunkin Donuts dropped the 'Donuts' and Weight Watchers lost the 'Weight'. If done well rebranding can propel a company forward into a new market, create extension opportunities and appeal to a new target audience. I discussed rebranding with TVNZ Breakfast show presenter Daniel Faitaua.
September 7, 2018
These days being overtly political could be a less risky strategy than staying quiet on topical issues, especially when your target market is passionate about these issues. Corporate social activism is no doubt on the rise, what remains to be seen is whether a brand taking a stand on a social issue will have real world effects. I discussed this topic with TVNZ Breakfast show host Jack Tame.
August 28, 2018
Does a country's political leadership and culture impact the country's brand? Interesting discussion with TVNZ's Breakfast show host Hayley Holt about how brand associations are formed and translated.
Print and Radio
February 15, 2024, Radio New Zealand: Interview with Emile Donovan on ‘Nights’ program on recent co-authored cancel culture research
February 13, 2023, Australian Institute of Management: Transformative branding without crossing the woke washing line
January 17, 2023, Newsroom NZ: NZ's Bed Bath & Beyond pays the price for cheekily nabbing global brand
December 1, 2022, The CEO Magazine: Pure of purpose: Purpose driven marketing or social washing?
August 23, 2021, Radio New Zealand: Expert interviewed on “The Panel” about the All Whites nickname in a changing world (my commentary begins at 13.22).
July 8, 2021, Politics.co.uk: Should brands get involved in politics?
May 17, 2021, Waatea Urban Maori Radio: Discussing my winning entry in the New Zealand Business Translation competition based off of coauthored research on brand activism.
January 27, 2021, AdNews: ANALYSIS: Rebranding calls are getting louder
October 22, 2020, Quartz: If everybody hates wokewashing, why do companies still do it?
March 10, 2019, New Zealand Herald: How did we get so woke? The rise of virtue signalling
June 12, 2019, CBC Radio Canada: The tactic of engaging in activism has a long history, and has evolved as consumerism has become a larger part of our economy. But what is different about brands now engaging with contested social & political issues- or brand activism, and are some of the problems with ‘branding’ social movements? I commented on this for an episode of CBC Ideas titled “Woke Washing: the problem with ‘branding’ social movements (my commentary begins at 32:00).
September 5, 2018, Radio New Zealand: Quoted expert commenting on Nike's new campaign featuring controversial former NFL player Colin Kaepernick. Nike took a calculated risk by taking a stand on a controversial issue. Although this ignited controversy it appears to also have had the intended effect: strengthening its bond with the target consumer.
Awards, Competitions & Invited Talks
New Zealand Business Research Translation Competition
May 7, 2021
Winner of the 2020/21 Early Career Researcher Category with my submission “Brand activism: What when, where and how- translating theory into practice” based on coauthored research with Sommer Kapitan, Amanda Spry and Joya Kemper.
Neighbourly
December 11, 2019
My research colleague Sommer Kapitan and I were invited to present our current work on brand activism to the marketing group at Neighbourly.
The Warehouse Group
October 25, 2019
My research colleague Sommer Kapitan and I were invited to present our current work on brand activism to the marketing group at The Warehouse Group.
Oxford Centre for Corporate Reputation Research Symposium
August 30, 2019
I was invited to speak as part of the closing panel on the topic of brand activism at the 2019 University of Oxford Reputation Symposium.
ad:tech 2018
November 15, 2018
I presented as part of a panel discussing “viral CSR” and the rise of brand activism. How brands are using prosocial engagement as a clear marketing strategy to get in on the consumer conversation.