Rise of Brand Involvement and Social Justice- SOM702 Presentation

1. Rise of Brand Involvement and
Social Justice
Victor Gomez
Thomas Edison State University
SOM 702
Professor David Castle
12/18/2022

2. Overview of social justice trend
• Companies use social justice with the hopes that users will share it like they do with popular
content
• Social justice is described as a process as well as a goal: "Social justice seeks to achieve full
and fair involvement of members of all social identity groups in a society that is jointly
developed to fulfill their needs (Zheng, 2020).
• Social justice also involves giving back to the community and making the globe a more
socially conscious place.
• Social justice is more than merely shunning the next celebrity for hurtful remarks from ten
years ago, protesting, or boycotting them.
• The process also involves making genuine connections with individuals from many walks of
life and socioeconomic backgrounds (Forrester, 2020).

3. History and Evolution
of Social Justice
• Social justice was originally articulated in the nineteenth
century, during the Industrial Revolution, when efforts
were made to advance more equal societies and lessen
the exploitation of particular oppressed groups in
response to the widening gap between the wealthy and
the poor (Ward, 2005).
• Human rights and the betterment of the lives of
underprivileged and disadvantaged people who have
consistently been subjected to injustice are now at the
forefront of the social justice movement.
• With the use of social media, individuals, groups, and
causes may raise their voices, share their stories, and
expand their networks in order to advocate for social
change.

4. Practicing social justice off social
media
• The organic food retailer Whole Foods is an example of a company that employs social
justice marketing strategy to support social issues.
• The company has known from the beginning that good nutrition is essential to a thriving
community, and that it also has a direct bearing on the health of the land and its inhabitants
(Whole Foods, 2018).
• Additionally, the company has always been quite generous to causes that promote social
justice and sustainable development.
• The corporation has established three charitable foundations (Whole Cities, Whole Kids, and
Whole Planet) on top of donating 5% of its after-tax income.
• Numerous stores in many areas provide a 5 or 10-cent discount to customers who carry their
own bags, with the option of either keeping the money for themselves or donating it to a local
charity.

5. Pros of social justice
as a social media trend
• Promoting ideas of social justice will attract a more
diverse audience and foster a welcoming atmosphere
(Forrester, 2020). .
• In contrast to advertisements that only target those who
already conform to society norms, those that emphasize
social justice reach out to everyone.
• By acting in an ethical manner, this strategy facilitates
stronger customer interactions for businesses.
• Promoting social justice is a great way to keep a positive
public profile and appeal to a large customer base
(Schaeffer, 2019).
• Being socially conscious is not only excellent for
business, but will also inform how a brand communicates
with customers and motivate employees.
• Participating in a political discussion or lending support
to a cause is a great way to raise brand awareness.

6. Cons of social justice as a social media
trend
• Motivates a sizable segment of a brand's target audience to become disenchanted. It is crucial
to keep in mind the possibility of losing clients who have the opposing viewpoint while
dealing with divisive topics (Wang & Ren, 2020).
• Result in repercussions that a brand is not prepared to handle. If a brand takes a stand on a
contentious social subject, they may face backlash from customers and a barrage of inquiries
for which they have no answers.
• Consumers may interpret businesses' incoherence as an indication that they lack expertise in
their respective fields. This can give the impression that the brand is uncaring and only
pretends to be interested in participating.
• To maintain credibility, brands need to be ready to defend the choices they have made in how
they have presented their core values and ideas.

7. A demonstration of
social justice trend
in action
Nike
• In 2018, Nike's 'Just Do It' social justice ad campaign
featured Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback for
the San Francisco 49ers who caused a stir by kneeling
during the national anthem to condemn racial injustice.
• Nike has benefited significantly from this promotion.
The #JustDoIt hashtag has been used in over 15
million Instagram posts, a significant portion of this
User-Generated Content has helped Nike boost social
media reach and increased brand awareness, shop
visits, and purchases.
• According to Nike CEO Mark Parker, it has resulted in
"record engagement" with the brand and increased
revenue (Nike, 2018).

8. A demonstration of
social justice trend
in action
Airbnb
• The '#Weaccept' commercial from Airbnb (2017) is
another instance of a business addressing timely issues
of politics and nationality.
• The advertisement was a response to Trump's travel
restriction and features a diverse group of people from
different countries who all share the same right to enter
the United States.
• The fact that the people in the ad were Airbnb staff
made it feel more genuine and approachable.
• About 87 million Earned Impressions were generated
by the #WeAccept campaign, making it Airbnb's third-
largest Earned Impressions generator ever (Airbnb,
2017) .

9. Findings
• Today's consumers care about the planet more than ever before. People are talking about and
brainstorming solutions to social problems like racism, sexism, and inequality.
• Young individuals who have grown up in the digital age are more selective in the information
they take in since they have seen social media advertising proliferate from an early age.
• Younger generations are more likely to practice "conscious consumerism," or an
understanding of how one's personal purchasing choices affect wider social and
environmental systems (Schaeffer, 2019).
• Global study found that more than 70% of consumers expect firms to take a stance on social
justice topics (Schaeffer, 2019).
• Because of the variety of options available to them in today's market, more and more
consumers are paying careful consideration to their spending habits and the values of the
companies they patronize (Wang & Ren, 2020).

10. Most relevant points currently shaping the
future
• Today's businesses are more open than ever to engaging in (and often even leading) public
discourse on matters of importance, with new examples of companies taking a stance
appearing on a regular basis (Forrester, 2020).
• Even if taking a stand puts a company at risk, it is what consumers prefer.
• Seventy percent of consumers, regardless of political affiliation, believe brands should
publicly address key social concerns.
• More and more brands are speaking out on the challenges facing the globe today, and
businesses are beginning to see that doing so can be both profitable and a source of positive
publicity.

11. Most relevant points currently shaping the
future
• Whether it's diversity and inclusion, environmental sustainability, or social justice, consumers
are increasingly considering these issues while making purchases (Wang & Ren, 2020).
• Marketing campaigns now frequently include references to social causes as a means of
connecting with consumers.
• Consumers and employees will be quick to point out if the social cause a company is
championing is not actually incorporated in the firm's culture and day-to-day operations, and
worse, the adverse reactions could taint the brand and even put the long-term credibility of
the company in jeopardy.
• Businesses will continue to face scrutiny from various stakeholders well into the future.
Making social media advertising go viral isn't the same as fostering a committed workforce;
that takes time and effort across the board.
• Without the need for social media, customers will have a sense of it from their own personal
experience.

12. References
Airbnb. (2017, February 05). We Accept |. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yetFk7QAirbnboSck
Forrester. (2020a). It’s Time To Ready Your Brand For Social
Justice. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forrester/2020/08/24/its-time-to-
ready-your-brand-for-social-justice/?sh=42180e32a06f
Nike. (2018, September 05). Nike - Dream Crazy. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq2CvmgoO7I
Schaeffer, L. (2019, October 2). Consumers Expect the Brands
they Support to be Socially Responsible. Www.businesswire.com.
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191002005697/en/
Consumers-Expect-the-Brands-they-Support-to-be-Socially-
Responsible

13. References
Wang, X., & Ren, J. (2020). De-Marketing Social Causes: Why Companies Shouldn’t Promote
Social Causes on Social Media. California Management Review Insights.
https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2020/10/de-marketing-social-causes/
Ward, T. J. (2005). Development, Social Justice, and Civil Society. Paragon House Publishers.
Whole Foods. (2018). Whole Foods UK. Wholefoodsmarket.co.uk.
https://www.wholefoodsmarket.co.uk/
Zheng, L. (2020, June 15). We’re Entering the Age of Corporate Social Justice. Harvard
Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/06/were-entering-the-age-of-corporate-social-justice