Brand Activism Isn’t a Campaign. It’s a Company Decision (Podcast with Philip Kotler) Podcast By cover art

Brand Activism Isn’t a Campaign. It’s a Company Decision (Podcast with Philip Kotler)

Brand Activism Isn’t a Campaign. It’s a Company Decision (Podcast with Philip Kotler)

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https://media.blubrry.com/b2bleadblog/www.markempa.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Philip-Kotler-interview.mp3 Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Email Updates I interviewed Dr. Philip Kotler — often called the father of modern marketing — about what brand activism actually means, why most companies get it wrong, and what it means for B2B. Kotler co-authored Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action with Christian Sarkar. The conversation covered how branding evolved from product labels to value commitments, why B2B is not exempt, and why activism that starts in the marketing department almost always fails. What follows is the full conversation, edited for clarity and readability. What is brand activism? Brian: I’m excited to have you on the show today to talk about brand activism. So, what is brand activism? Dr. Kotler: Brand activism, Brian, is a movement toward making a brand do more than just tout the virtues of a product or a service, its usual function, and to go and even identify some value or values that the company has and cares about. For example, I would say a company that is active with this brand would be, probably, The Body Shop, especially when it started out under Anita Roddick. Because she made it her point that she’s not only selling skincare products as a retailer, but she really was also fighting for animal rights, civil rights, fair trade, environmental protection. So her brand was active. I don’t mean that all other brands are passive, because they do a lot of work, but the implication is that companies carry reputations, and they want to have a good reputation. More and more consumers would like to know, about a company they deal with on either a frequent basis or on a fundamental single-use basis, they would like to know what kind of company is this, what does it care about. Because our society is saddled with a lot of problems, and does the company care about any of these problems, or does it just think it’s supposed to make money? Well an increasing number of companies would like an identity that goes beyond just making the product or service. And that is what we are calling brand activism, the brand that actually connects with some cause, or maybe several reasons. Why Kotler wrote the book — and why now Brian: You recently wrote a book on this topic. I’d love to know the story behind why you wrote the book Brand Activism, and why now? Dr. Kotler: I think that, if you look at some barometers, like the Edelman Trust Barometer, about the level of trust in society today, it’s undoubtedly been falling. Brian: Yes. Dr. Kotler: And as a result, many companies are not going to be trusted either, as part of maybe government not being believed, and other institutions. And companies ought to be the first to fight against bad companies, rather than stand near them or be part of bad companies. So the idea is that, at this time, companies want to be profiled in a certain way. In other words, the reputation a company has could be just whatever happens in its course of behavior. Or it could also be something that only could be designed better. Consciously better. The evolution of branding: from products to values Dr. Kotler: And you see, the whole idea of a brand itself has gone through several stages, and that’s very important. I think brand activism is probably the highest stage, but let me tell you what the steps are in my mind. Brian: That would be great. Dr. Kotler: Yes. The first stage is when the company simply does its best to feature the right side of its product and services. Now that’s normal. That was an identifier. Then brands moved into trying to define the company’s positioning, but not social positioning. Just their positioning like, Walmart is lowest price, and Disney is family entertainment, DuPont is highest quality, and Toyota, long-lasting reliable performance. So in that second stage the brand became, not just one mentioning a product, but it was positioning the product. Then the brand moved further, to define perhaps a set of qualities about the company. Let me take, as an example, John Deere, which makes all kinds of equipment for farmers and for forestry workers and for construction workers. You would say that at this stage, John Deere would describe itself for its quality, its integrity, and its innovation. It’s really positioning, but it’s multi-positioning. Namely saying that it stands high on many traits that are valued by most people. But this could move into a fourth stage where the brand actually adopts a particular cause. You know about corporate social responsibility, and a lot of companies are into that. So, a company may say that it really cares about the climate problem and wants to help move solutions toward keeping a safe climate in the world. Or it could be some other cause. Then brand activism is alive with that development of going from corporate social responsibility to the company actually saying, here’s one of the ...
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