Perfectly imperfect A comparison of female millennial consumers’ perceptions towards ‘Brand Activist Aspirants’ and ‘Authentic Brand Activists’ in the lingerie market by Lieke Theadora Adriana Brinkhof & Eileen Marlena Kersten 31st of May 2021 Master’s Programme in International Marketing and Brand Management Supervisor: Fleura Bardhi Examiner: Jon Bertilsson Abstract Title: Perfectly imperfect - A comparison of female millennial consumers’ perceptions towards ‘Brand Activist Aspirants’ and ‘Authentic Brand Activists’ in the lingerie market. Date of seminar: 04th of June 2021 Course: BUSN39 Degree Project in Global Marketing Authors: Lieke Theadora Adriana Brinkhof & Eileen Marlena Kersten Supervisor and examiner: Fleura Bardhi & Jon Bertilsson Keywords: Social brand activism, consumers’ perceptions, authenticity, female millennials, Authentic Brand Activist, Brand Activist Aspirant Purpose: The purpose of this study is to comprehend female millennial consumers’ perceptions towards lingerie brands that are categorised as ‘Brand Activist Aspirants’ compared to ‘Authentic Brand Activists’. Methodology: As this research focuses on studying consumers’ perceptions, a subjective social constructionist view was taken. By using an abductive approach, an exploratory qualitative research was conducted. Theoretical perspective: To understand the overall classification of brands into brand activism categories and the consumers perceived brand authenticity, this study reviewed and applied two theories. One of these was extended upon to include the new category ‘Brand Activist Aspirant’. Empirical Data: 11 semi-structured interviews were carried out with female millennial lingerie consumers who are involved in or familiar with brand activism. These were selected by applying purposive sampling. Additionally, three lingerie brands served as an example of ‘Authentic Brand Activists’ and ‘Brand Activist Aspirants’ for our study. Findings/Conclusion: The findings suggest that consumers prefer activist over non-activist brands but only when their efforts are genuine which is especially important if they are shifting towards such an approach and become ‘Brand Activist Aspirants’. While such aspirants are lacking authenticity as they have only recently taken a stance and are still working on incorporating the key characteristics (purpose, values, marketing messaging, corporate practices, track record), ‘Authentic Brand Activists’ perform well as they follow sincere intentions and have integrated brand activism into their core for a long duration. Practical implications: The results from this study showcase what brands need to consider when aiming to adopt an activist approach, making them ‘Brand Activist Aspirants’. By aligning the five key characteristics, marketing practitioners are able to lead their brands to an ‘Authentic Brand Activist’ approach. Acknowledgement This thesis was written throughout the spring semester of 2021 as the final degree project of the Master of Science in International Marketing and Brand Management at Lund University School of Economics and Management. We would like to thank: The One with the Super-Visor First and foremost, we want to express our gratitude to our supervisor Fleura Bardhi for guiding us through this process and going beyond her way to help us succeed. We are extremely grateful for Fleura sharing her expertise with us as well as steering us in the right direction by providing valuable and constructive feedback. The One with the Detail-Loving Friends Secondly, we want to thank each other for sharing the same aspirations and interests which helped us find a topic we are both passionate about. Beyond that, our friendship enabled us to combine good work ethics and ambition with fun and laughter. We can now say that we understand each other blindly and know exactly which fancy word makes the other happy. The One with the Far Away but Closest Ones We also want to show appreciation to our friends and family back home for sharing their love and support, no matter what we aspire to pursue. We highly appreciate all their encouraging words and for helping us get through tougher moments by cheering us up again. The One where they were in the LUSEM Learning Hub Moreover, we are grateful for all our friends and the amazing people from our programme who we have had the pleasure to connect with. To all the smiles, mental support, the endless (late night) study sessions, sugar overdoses, Grönt o’ Gott salads and foosball games. The One with the Priceless Input Last but not least, we want to thank our insightful interviewees who have shared their in-depth experiences with us on a rather personal topic and took their precious time participating in our interviews. Thanks for all the valuable and rich input as well as being so engaged and excited about our topic, helping us to create a thesis that we are genuinely proud of. Lund, Sweden, 31st of May 2021 ______________________________ ______________________________ Lieke Theadora Adriana Brinkhof Eileen Marlena Kersten Table of content 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problematisation .............................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Research aim ................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Outline of the thesis ......................................................................................................... 6 2 Literature review ................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility ...................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Definition and background .......................................................................................... 7 2.1.2 Distinction of brand activism from CSR ..................................................................... 8 2.1.3 Purpose-driven marketing .......................................................................................... 11 2.1.3.1 Definition and background ........................................................................................ 11 2.1.3.2 Social-purpose immigrants ........................................................................................ 12 2.2 Brand activism ............................................................................................................... 13 2.2.1 Definition and background ........................................................................................ 13 2.2.2 Social brand activism ................................................................................................. 15 2.2.3 Consumer perception of brand activism .................................................................... 16 2.2.4 Brand activism categories .......................................................................................... 19 2.2.4.1 Authentic Brand Activism ......................................................................................... 21 2.2.4.2 Inauthentic Brand Activism ....................................................................................... 22 2.2.4.3 Brand Activist Aspirants ........................................................................................... 24 2.2.5 The outcomes of brand activism ................................................................................ 25 2.2.6 Brand activism in fashion and lingerie ...................................................................... 26 2.3 Key takeaways ............................................................................................................... 28 3 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 30 3.1 Research philosophy ..................................................................................................... 30 3.2 Research approach ......................................................................................................... 31 3.3 Research design ............................................................................................................. 32 3.4 Data collection method .................................................................................................. 34 3.4.1 Sample and participant selection ............................................................................... 36 3.4.2 Brand selection .......................................................................................................... 38 3.5 Data analysis ................................................................................................................. 43 3.6 Quality of research ........................................................................................................ 45 3.7 Ethical considerations ................................................................................................... 47 4 Empirical findings ............................................................................................................. 48 4.1 Theme 1: The fading of a beauty ideal .......................................................................... 48 4.1.1 Perception