Abstract

The role of Instagram brand messaging as a force for good is examined when a brand’s mission is creating societal change and where being authentic can also lead to controversy and negative responses. A depth study of an exemplary brand is used to explore brand authenticity in the context of sustainability, brand activism messaging and consumer responses to brand posts on Instagram. We offer a unique perspective by focusing on authentic brand sustainability activism. 104 brand messages and 5541 consumer responses to Patagonia, an activist brand renowned for supporting environmental and social issues, are analysed. An extended ‘activist sustainability view’ of brand authenticity is proposed including the conceptualisation of authentic brand sustainability activism. Eight types of consumer response to brand sustainability posts that encompass both positive and negative sentiment are identified. Theoretical and managerial implications, and avenues for future research are offered.

Introduction

The climate crisis poses an existential threat; if we don’t clean up our mess, we’ll be history. Business has a role to play, but it’s only one lever. We must use all the tools at our disposal to secure a safer, more just future. (Ryan Gellert, Patagonia CEO cited in Patagonia,(2022a).

A key issue in business research concerns how organisations position themselves to deliver more than growth and profit – positive impact on society and the environment as tenets of sustainability are a given (Lloveras et al., 2022). An emphasis on sustainability marketing that considers a variety of marketing practices and interactions is now critical if there is to be genuine change for people and planet (Thomas, 2018). Brands are increasingly used as a marketing tool for more than driving sales – they can represent an organisation’s raison d’etre and become a platform for societal change. Brand identity created around sustainability must deliver on promises and ensure authentic embedding of sustainability (Vallaster et al., 2012). Research suggests that when brands promote sustainability values it is essential to be perceived as authentic because consumers are often sceptical about sustainability claims (Ginder and Byun, 2022, Iglesias and Ind, 2020). But what happens in terms of brand authenticity when a sustainable brand takes a stand on controversial environmental, social, and economic issues and essentially becomes a sustainable activist brand?

Being an authentic brand and communicating authentically is characterised by having brand behaviour and core values that are consistent over time (Bruhn et al., 2012, Fritz et al., 2017, Spiggle et al., 2012), remaining real, truthful, honest and true to itself (Becker et al., 2019, Beverland, 2006), and symbolising what the brand stands for (Jian et al., 2019, Morhart et al., 2015). Brand scholars agree on four key dimensions of brand authenticity that can lead to enhanced brand attachment, positive word of mouth, and intentions to purchase, including continuity, credibility, integrity, and symbolism (Carsana and Jolibert, 2018, Morhart et al., 2015). These dimensions of brand authenticity have been exemplified by famous brands that show leadership in some facet of business and connect well with their customers, for example Lego, Amazon and Apple (Goldsmith, 2019). However, while many famously authentic brands have well-accepted prosocial Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agendas they tend not to adopt issues that are divisive (Mirzaei et al., 2022). Less is known about how the reported dimensions of brand authenticity play out in the context of activist brands that have strong, uncompromising, and sometimes polarising socio-political and sustainability agendas (Eilert & Nappier Cherup, 2020).

Implications and conclusions

Being an authentic ASB does not mean it is without fault and cannot improve, but it does mean being true to its mission. Of course Patagonia is ultimately a business and will only survive if people continue to consume and use their products. Ironically, their sustainability agenda may also drive consumption. However, on balance, their drive to reduce their own impact on the planet (production side) and their commitment to use resources for good to encourage reductions in the impact of consumption (related to their own industry and more generally in the wider world) is full of integrity. As an activist sustainability brand they have been consistent in their use of authentic symbolism and continuously credible in their drive to do better – as any authentic brand should be – and this case study of a 50-year-old activist brand has allowed us to make several theoretical contributions.