Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action

by Philip Kotler, Christian Sarkar

“…Brand Activism will be required reading, not only in business schools and by NGOs and campaigners, but by asset managers, owners, pension funds’ trustees and senior corporate executives worldwide.” – Hazel Henderson, founder, Ethical Markets “Kotler and Sarkar convincingly make the case as to why values-driven marketing requires taking the right actions too. Timely, progressive and ground-breaking, their how-to brand activism framework should be the go-to guide for marketers wanting to make a bigger difference with their brands.” – Kevin Lane Keller, E.B. Osborn Professor of Marketing, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth “Phil (and his colleague Sarkar) is at it again, continuing to up his game. This time he is aiming at helping society and the world in which we live. Corporate and governmental trust is at a crisis. This book is an essential roadmap of steps businesses and their leaders must partake.” – David Reibstein, William Stewart Woodside Professor Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Does business have an obligation to step up when government isn't doing its job? What happens when businesses and their customers don’t share the same values? Or, for that matter, when employees of a company don’t share the same values as their executives? Welcome to the world of Brand Activism. Companies no longer have a choice. If the gap between a business and its values and its customers or society and his other stakeholders is too large, business will inevitably suffer. What can be done? How do brands align their values with the values of their customers, their employees, and society at large? What is needed, now more than ever, is a mindset that views reality from the outside in. Brand Activism consists of business efforts to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic, and/or environmental reform or stasis with the desire to promote or impede improvements in society. This brand activism is a natural evolution beyond the values-driven Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) programs that are, frankly, too slow. Brand activism is driven by a fundamental concern for the biggest and most urgent problems facing society. It gives life to what it means to be a “values-driven” company. You can’t be a values-driven company and disregard society – your employees, your customers, the communities you work in, and the world. The proof is in what you do, not what you say. A we should be clear in saying that activism doesn’t have to be progressive; it can be regressive as well. The poster-child for regressive activism is Big Tobacco – the tobacco companies that for so many years denied the harm their products did to consumers, even when their own research revealed otherwise. They promoted the “virtues” of smoking in a way that actually hurt consumers. Companies that lobby our politicians for regressive policies are regressive brand activists. On the progressive activism side, we see more and more companies seeking to have an impact on the biggest societal problems. These companies have a larger purpose than simple profit-seeking, and are increasingly seen as leaders in their industries. Brand From Purpose to Action is about how progressive businesses are taking stands to create a better world.

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 4, 2018

About the author

Professor Kotler's book, Marketing Management, is the world's most widely used graduate level textbook in marketing. His other textbooks include Principles of Marketing and management: An Introduction and they are also widely used around the world.
Kotler developed new concepts in marketing including atmospherics, demarketing, megamarketing, turbomarketing and synchromarketing. He believes that marketing theory needs to go beyond price theory and incorporate the dynamics of innovation, distribution and promotion systems into analyzing, explaining and predicting economic outcomes.
Kotler has worked for many large companies in the areas of marketing strategy, planning and organization, and international marketing.
He presents seminars in major international cities and countries around the world on the latest marketing developments to companies and other organizations.
"He is the father of Marketing Management".
(Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Avani ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brand Activism by Christian Sarkar & Philip Kotler is a non-fiction book which talks about the concept called brand activism where it tries to bridge the gap between the company's values and it's customers.

The book consists of interviews and conversations with different professional leaders from various backgrounds named Stephen Covey, Clark Fox, Raj Sisodia, etc. The book helps brand not just say but also do.

"Brand activism is different because it is driven by a fundamental concern for the biggest and the most urgent problems facing society." We talk about different strategies as well as the problems of ecosystem naming "Wicked 7".

The book talks about all the aspects of a company and their part into brand activism, namely the employee, the CEO, the customer. The 6Ps of brand activism. Read the book to know more!

[Aritri Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brands have been an integral part of our lives and the society as a whole. While some would say society shapes the positioning of brands, others would point out how brands shape society too. And there are countless examples of society and brands aligning with each other and their employees and customers. As a marketing student, I have had to go through multiple case discussions and booklets detailing the journey of various brands, what worked for them and what didn't. In this book, @philip.kotler and @christian.sarkar tell us in layman terms, what is required if business if it intends to continue to thrive in society. The authors take us through both progressive and regressive activism and highlights how exactly the CEO, the employees and the customers can also act as brand activists for the business. It provides many frameworks that can be easily applied to practical situations. A lot of the strategies can be modified and applied for one's personal brand too. Especially us bookstagrammers can definitely apply them to build our own brands on Instagram and target that organic growth in these terrible times of suffering reach.

Give this book a try if you are trying to grow your small business, working on your personal brand or working for a company whose brand goals you want to align yourself to. It is also ideal for entrepreneurs working hard in this VUCA world

[Darjan Minov · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to learn about brand activism there are much better sources out there.

I admire Philip Kotler for many reasons but this is not his best work.

Majority of the book is an anti-Trump, anti US rant and pointing fingers and “bad, bad company”. And as much as some of this criticism makes sense, it is not the best guide for active brands as it advocates for a more ideologically driven approach rather than providing a framework for managing (what is effectively) a more thorough CSR strategy.

[Mariasilvia Santi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il purpose non è più un indice di buona volontà, ma di reputazione e di fatturato. L'attivismo aziendale finalmente si gonfia della retorica fuorviante dei claim di sostenibilità e si lega alle strutture più profonde dell'azienda: dalla vision all'organigramma.
Brand Activism è una guida illuminata. E forse altro non poteva essere.

[Pierfilippo Pierucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kotler non si smentisce. Ormai l'unica fonte valida da tenere tracciata per aggiornarsi sullo stato dell'arte del marketing. Il tema dell'activism a livello corporate spiegato bene e con giuste riflessioni a livello micro e macro. Tante reference corrette e una buona lettura.