Millennials demand for brand activism : A qualitative studie about corporate brands using brand activism as a communication strategy to reach millennials

The new phenomena of brand activism can be used as a communication strategy to reach consumers. The demand for brand activism has increased with the generation of millennials. This research uses a qualitative method to get a greater understanding of how companies use brand activism as a communication strategy to reach millennials. The authors have chosen to study corporate brands since they have a structure within the business where everything that is communicated from the brand will be a lifelong message. This study is based on a content analysis to get a greater understanding for how brand activism is used and how companies with the help from activism content reach millennials. The companies that have been studied are Nike, Ben & Jerry’s and The Body Shop, which all use brand activism and have millennials as a part of their target audience. Millennials are an important target audience since they stand for 30% of the population. Therefore it is important to grow and understand their new demands for more ethical and moral brands. This generation wants to contribute to the world and make a change. The results of this study shows that brand activism engages millennials and has a positive effect on their purchase intentions. Which is important for companies to take into consideration in their corporate branding. The results also show whether or not the companies are bold or not when they chose a subject to take a stand in.