The power of controversy - the effect of brand authenticity

Brands are increasingly touching on controversial issues and maintain a position in reaction, making it important to understand how consumers perceive and respond to these brands. But, what does consumers feel when brands take a public stand on controversial socio-political issues? How do they respond to these actions? Do they perceive them as authentic? In this work project I ran an experiment involving a fictional brand and its level of commitment to a socio-political controversial issue (brand activism commitment). Results showed brand activism commitment has a positive effect on perceived brand authenticity. This effect of brand activism commitment holds also for consumers’ purchase intentions. In summary, higher commitment induces higher perceived authenticity, which leads to a higher purchase intention