Brand activism and the consequence of woke washing

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of message abstractness in construing brand activism messages. Its primary objective is to compare the effect of abstract vs. concrete internal vs. concrete external messages on brand authenticity, and how brand activism fit mediates this relationship. It also analyzes the negative consequence of woke washing triggered by either congruent or incongruent woke washing. Four experiments were conducted, in three different contexts (abortion rights, racial equality, and LGBTQ rights) with both student and nationally representative samples, to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings suggest that if brands communicate concrete internal messages focusing on specific changes inside the organization, then consumers perceive the activism messages to be more aligned with the issue, leading to increased brand authenticity. If brands get involved in sociopolitical activism but fail to fulfill their promise, congruent woke washing is formed, which is more destructive than incongruent woke washing.