Consumers Follow Brand Promises and Focus on Brand Values

Over 1,000 advertisers have paused ads from Facebook for the month of July to support the Stop Hate For Profit campaign that seeks to pressure the social media network to make a better effort to remove hate speech and harmful content from its platform. In response, Facebook shared plans to address demands.

 

4A’s Research surveyed 1,024 consumers using Suzy, a real-time market research platform, to learn consumer perception on the advertising pause, as well as the importance of brand values in the path to purchase.

We found that 37% of consumers have heard of the Facebook advertising pause in support of the Stop Hate For Profit campaign. We conducted a targeted survey on July 20 to the participants who were aware of the Facebook advertising pause. Of those consumers who were aware of the ad pause, 76% view brands that are participating more favorably, while 7% view participating brands less favorably.
Monitoring actions on brand promises

As awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement rose in June, many brands issued statements showing support and released planned responses to fight against systemic racism within their organizations and broadly in the community. These actions ranged from plans to increase diversity within the organizations to supporting Black creators to removal of anti-Black and other racist imagery. A previous 4A’s Research survey of 1,000 consumers found many anticipated that brands would follow through on promises.

62% of respondents said they are actively monitoring brand actions for fulfillment of promises made to support Black Lives Matter. Black respondents and those with incomes over $100,000 are more likely to be monitoring brand actions. Paired with the rising importance of brand values, brands should be prepared to provide progress updates on actions in order to maintain brand loyalty.

The majority of respondents (49%) appreciate brands are making an effort to fight racism, hatred, and misinformation, while nearly one-third (28%) think brands should lead such efforts.

A brand’s response to Black Lives Matter did impact consumer attitudes towards the brand. 47% became more supportive of brands and 28% said they will stop buying a brand due to their Black Lives Matter response.

As consumer activism rises, brand values become more important in the path to purchase. According to the survey of consumers who are aware of the Facebook advertising pause, 91% say brand values are important when deciding what brands to buy. Gen X and Millennials rank brand values as very important in their decision-making process.

Almost half (48%) of consumers make a conscious effort to purchase brands that align with their personal values. 40% do prefer a brand’s values to align with their own, but it’s not a big factor when deciding to make a purchase. Only 12% don’t consider brand values when making a purchase decision.

An alignment of brand and consumer values, as well as brands’ responses to Black Lives Matter, are increasingly important in the path to purchase. Consumers will hold brands accountable and expect brands to follow through on promises made. Brands should be prepared to provide progress updates on actions in order to maintain brand loyalty.

 

 

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