The Corporate Purpose Podcast

Exploring Brand Activism and Advocacy with Dr. Elaine Young

Episode Summary

Should a brand be engaged in activism or advocacy? This is a bit of a hot-button question, so I turned to Dr. Elaine Young, professor of marketing at Champlain College, to help break down this question. Dr. Young teaches an Activist Marketing class at Champlain and explains what it means to be an activist brand, how corporate purpose factors into advocacy, and what all brands need to consider in today's polarized political environment.

Episode Notes

In episode 24, Dr. Elaine Young, professor of digital marketing at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, joins the podcast to explore brand activism and brand advocacy. Together, we discuss: 

• What is brand activism?
• What is the difference between brand activism and brand advocacy?
• What happens when a brand chooses to remain neutral?
• Can a brand afford to be neutral?
• Why no stance is a stance?
• How do brands decide where  and when to show up?
• How can brands navigate this space when we know that advocacy and purpose may vary depending on the audience or person?
• What happens when brands are pushed to show up for an issue?

Here are links to two of the books Elaine mentioned in the podcast: 

Brand Activism: from Purpose to Action, by Christian Sarkar and Philip Kotler

Good is the New Cool: Market Like You Give a Damn, by Afdhel Aziz and Bobby Jones

You can also find Elaine Young at Champlain College or on LinkedIn. 

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