Beyond the Post: How Profile Picture Changes Shape Consumer Perceptions of Brand Activism
研究品牌在社交媒体上通过更换头像来倡导社会议题，发现此举能提升品牌真实性和好感度，且不会疏远持反对立场的消费者。
ABSTRACT Brands are increasingly engaging in brand activism on social media, creating campaigns and taking public stances on social and political issues that sometimes can be divisive (Sarkar and Kotler 2018; Moorman 2020). Due to the division in consumers' stances on these issues, extant research has identified a backlash effect of brand activism. In this study, we examine how brands can communicate and uphold their stances authentically on social media without alienating the consumers who stand opposite to a brand's stance. Building on prior research on brand activism and social media, we examine the impact of using a profile image to advocate a cause on consumers' attitudes toward the brand. In a series of experimental studies and an online field study, we found that advocating for a cause through a change of profile picture can increase brand authenticity and liking without alienating consumers.