Brand Activism for Sustainable Development Goals: A Comparative Analysis in the Beauty and Personal Care Industry

Abstract

National policymakers are now faced with the challenge of implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the scopes envisioned through its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) worldwide. Diversity discrimination and social inequalities often responsible for sociopolitical uncertainty are at the heart of the agenda. Increasingly, corporations are pushed to take a public stance on controversial issues, promoting social improvements through their power to lead social change. This phenomenon is known in the academic literature as brand activism (BA). Many companies, for example, are exposing themselves to the need to cope with the equality gap that still exists on aspects such as gender, race and age, especially those operating in the beauty and personal care industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore how BA is being used as a driver for equality and inclusion, supporting the achievement of the related SDGs 5 and 10. Through a comparative analysis of the two inclusive brands Dove and L’Oréal, this study aims to capture BA under different corporate strategies in terms of stated values, initiatives and digital communication. Both theoretical and managerial perspectives are offered in the study, which emphasizes that different activist approaches can be successful, provided strong and consistent values are adhered to. The findings of this research show that although the two brands use different activist approaches, one more communicative and the other less so, both are successful because they reflect authentic and consistent values that are considered positively by consumers. Therefore, the study questions the dominant view that BA authenticity is linked to marketing, placing greater emphasis on prosocial corporate practices over communication.