Peace Brand Activism: Global Brand Responses to the War in Ukraine

Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, many global brands took a stand on the crisis, which often elicited polarized consumer responses. This study explores this phenomenon—peace brand activism (PBA)—by conducting an inductive analysis of global brands’ responses to the Russi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of public policy & marketing Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 100 - 121
Main Authors Tsougkou, Eleni, Sykora, Martin, Elayan, Suzanne, Ifie, Kemefasu, Oliveira, João S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2025
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Activism
Geopolitics
International relations
Marketing
Peace
Policy making
Social media
Social networks
War
Ukraine
peace activism
war
brand activism
peace marketing
global brand
social media
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, many global brands took a stand on the crisis, which often elicited polarized consumer responses. This study explores this phenomenon—peace brand activism (PBA)—by conducting an inductive analysis of global brands’ responses to the Russia–Ukraine war as disclosed on social media channels across three different platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The analysis highlights the range of PBA tactics that global brands employ, revealing diverse action- and statement-based forms that they can adopt, including instances of pseudo-activism. In addition, this study identifies seven key characteristics of PBA: substantiality, nature, side-taking, location specificity, responsiveness, persistence, and diversity, each manifesting across spectra of differential ends. This work elucidates the evolving role of businesses in promoting peace and offers valuable guidance for managers navigating the complex terrain of PBA, emphasizing the importance of brands being cognizant of the various PBA options and thoroughly weighing the implications of taking a stand on sensitive geopolitical issues. The findings bear important policy implications, suggesting that policy makers must consider PBA's impact on bilateral relations and collaborate with brands to develop informed, strategic PBA initiatives. Finally, the authors outline important avenues for future research.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:0743-9156
1547-7207
DOI:10.1177/07439156241289079