Master Thesis Marketing Brand Activism: An Analysis on How Brand Activism could Influence the buying behaviour of Dutch Consumers. Name: Michelle Jamoneau Student number: 509403 Supervisor: Dr. Arie T. Barendregt Date: 15 July 2019 Erasmus school of Economics 1 Management Summary The aim of this thesis was to examine whether or not the Dutch population wants brands to endorse their ideas even when those are controversial, so called brand activism. In this thesis, the definition of brand activism by Harzevoort (2019) is used “Brand activism involves leading, promoting or breaking through social, political, economic or environmental issues with the aim of improving society.” There are two general motivations for studying brand activism in the Netherlands. The first is a strategy-based motivation to improve brand image, awareness, and engagement. A second reason to study brand activism arises results a financially based motivation to estimate whether brand activism in the Netherlands can increase profitability for organizations. This thesis demonstrated a answer to the following central research question: Is there a positive relationship between the buying behaviour of Dutch consumers and brands in the Netherlands that explicitly stand for and communicate their opinions on social issues as part of their brand personalities? To answer the central question a mixed methods study was conducted, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods in a multilayered research. This thesis first applied a quantitative research method to examine the extant literature on brand activism. Then, brand activism in the Netherlands was researched through a online survey among 265 Dutch consumers. Simultaneously, semi-structured, in-depth interviews were held with 7 experts in the field of marketing to identify the trends and to learn their experiences and opinions about the topic. The results of these studies were analyzed and interpreted concurrently. To measure if the personal characteristics of consumers will lead to a change in the odds for successful brand activism in the Netherlands, the analysis was carried out by means of the ordinal regression analysis. This thesis illustrates that there is indeed a positive relationship between the buying behaviour of Dutch consumers and brand activism in the Netherlands. Mainly due to digitization, consumers have become a lot more critical, outspoken and politically conscious over the last years. A vast majority endorses that brands have the power to influence social change and appreciate it when brands use this power and take action to address issues concerning society. It is not that Dutch consumers believe that brands have more influence than the government. However, the research conducted in this thesis illustrates that brands can complement politics well. Furthermore, it is important that brands take responsibility and do not take a passive position and wait for the legislation, but encourage the right choice themselves. It is no longer 2 enough to just sell products or services since a majority of people appreciates it when brands respond to social issues. The extant literature study, the surveys, and the interviews identified the most critical factors for the success of brand activism in the Netherlands: First of all, it is important to consider the differences in culture as well as the personal and psychological characteristics of the target audience. When a brand decides to make a statement, it is crucial to know how the target group thinks and feels about this issue. Based on this research, the target audience that will receive a brand’s statement most positively are female, aged between 35 and 54 years, actively seeking for brand information, have zero interest in the news, and are political left- oriented. Second, the statement has to be authentic and credible. Furthermore, the company must be prepared for negative responses. When a brand makes a statement, it is possible that somebody will be offended, so a brand should be able to deal with adverse reactions and have a crisis plan ready. Next, social media should be integrated and should cooperate with other marketing methods during campaigns. Finally, the researcher recommends to not make statements that are too controversial in the Netherlands as controversial statements are polarizing in the Netherlands and should only be made when the brand truly believes it and wants to improve society in regards to that specific subject. In conclusion, dare to make the first step in the right direction. When done with consistency, authenticity, and commitment, these first steps will be rewarded. If the target audience shares the point of view, there will be a stronger relationship as the brand and the consumer pursue the same goal. A brand can earn loyalty, ask for 'fair' prices, and gain word-of-mouth and free publicity. The researcher also recommends that future research should apply a larger data set with more combinations between variables. In addition, this thesis identifies that the majority of the respondents appreciates it when a brand makes a controversial statement. However, the issues a brand could connect with in this study are not controversial in general. That is why future research should be focussed on examining what the consumers define as controversial statements. Third, future research could be used to identify if the popularity of brand activism indeed has increased, for what reason and if the economical recession has an influence on brand activism. Finally, for future research, it would be interesting to examine whether the level of brand activism has an influence on the buying behaviour of the consumer. Is there a difference in the perception of the level of brand activism the consumer has with a specific brand and does this perception has an influence on the consumer's behaviour? 3 Acknowledgment After an intensive period of seven months, I can finally write my acknowledgment. By writing this word of thanks I put the finishing touches to my thesis and therefore also to the Master Marketing. It was a period in which I learned a lot, in terms of marketing, but also on a personal level. As expected, writing this thesis has been a process with ups and downs. I would like to thank the people who have supported and helped me in the past period. First of all, I want to thank my supervisor Dr. Arie Barendregt for the great support. He was always willing to help me and gave me the right tools to choose the right direction during the thesis. With success, because without his help and knowledge, it was not possible to successfully complete my thesis. Secondly, I would like to thank the experts who helped me with my interviews: Anneke van de Langkruis, Ron Schneider, Jacklynn Gerritsen, Gijsbregt Vijn, Marthe Noordzij, Angela Ursem, and Katelijne Blom. I could not have conducted the research without them. I would like to thank them for their time, knowledge and above all enthusiasm during the interviews. I would also like to thank my second reader G. J. Prevo for his time. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents and boyfriend for the wise advice and listening ear. I could always spar with you about my problems, findings, but luckily I could also talk to you about something other than just my thesis. Dear all, thank you very much! Michelle Jamoneau Honselersdijk, July 15 2019 4 Table of Content Chapter 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 7 1.1. Topic of Thesis ................................................................................................................ 7 1.2. Relevance of the Study and Objectives ........................................................................... 9 1.3. Central Research Question and Associated Sub-Questions .......................................... 10 1.4. Thesis Chapters Summary ............................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2. Literature Study ...................................................................................................... 12 2.1. Definition of Brand Activism ........................................................................................ 12 2.2. Attitudes toward Advertisements .................................................................................. 15 2.3. Definitions of Brand Image, Associations, Engagement and Brand Personality .......... 16 2.4. Buying Behaviour and Political Consumerism ............................................................. 20 2.5. Common results of Brand Activism .............................................................................. 25 2.6. Key Findings ................................................................................................................. 31 Chapter 3. Research Methodology ........................................................................................... 33 3.1. Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods ........................................................... 33 3.2. Data Collection Methods ............................................................................................... 35 3.3. Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 40 Chapter 4. Research Results ..................................................................................................... 48 4.1. Brand Activism ............................................................................................................