Maisie Lloyd
Maisie is the Digital Content Manager at Intelligency, handling all things creative for the agency. Her experience centres around the production of digital content, pertaining to graphic design, writing copy, and video and audio content.
What is brand activism?
Brand activism happens when brands adopt causes they believe in and actively voice their opinions and support. Activism can focus on political, social, environmental, or economic issues.
Brands can take an activist stance in several ways, typically through advocacy work, mission statements, and marketing campaigns.
Is it a good idea for a brand to be an activist?
Activism in business is nuanced; not every brand should engage in it. In some sectors, activism feels inappropriate or misaligned with the brand’s positioning.
Alignment depends on the individual business and how it chooses to champion specific issues. Brands that come across as disingenuous, inauthentic, or performative are far more likely to create a disconnect with their audience.
This disconnect can cause real harm, especially when audiences lose trust or feel disengaged, leading to potential financial repercussions.
When does it work?
Activism works best when it genuinely aligns with the business. Take Lush, for example. The brand actively opposes animal testing in beauty products, which directly connects to its role in cosmetic manufacturing and its stance on animal welfare and sustainability.
Championing animal rights feels like a natural extension of the brand rather than an add-on or performance tactic.
The brand also takes a polarising stance, recognising that meaningful change does not always come from neutrality, especially when activism involves complex or emotional issues. This approach works in its favour, as audiences who share these beliefs develop strong loyalty.
Brands like Lush succeed because they back their words with action, investment and long-term consistency. They embed activism into their identity through in-store displays, merchandise and packaging.
Does it alienate customers?
Brand activism can absolutely alienate audiences in some cases. A well known example is Kendall Jenner’s campaign with Pepsi, which aimed to promote unity but instead came across as tone deaf and trivialised serious issues like police brutality.
Activism carries a real risk of backlash, particularly when audiences feel closely connected to the issues involved. If a brand shows poor alignment with a cause, it can appear dismissive or opportunistic.
Can brands still sell while being an activist?
In 2026, brands that are successful at activism don’t treat it as a trade-off against sales. Instead, they use it to differentiate and build loyalty whilst justifying brand values. When activism is executed poorly, it absolutely can hurt revenue.
In saturated markets, values are what set brands apart from others. It demonstrates they stand for something meaningful, when some brands may choose to stay quiet to appeal to more people.
It can attract the right audience for brands, creating a better audience fit. A strong brand doesn’t need everybody to be its customer; it builds a core audience.
Brand activism isn’t a guaranteed win, but it’s not a guaranteed risk either. Its success comes down to credibility. We explore businesses’ virtue signalling in our blog on Virtue Signalling in Marketing: A Faux Pas.
Final thoughts
In 2026, audiences are more aware, more critical, and more informed than ever. They don’t just listen to what brands say, they watch what they do, question why they’re doing it, and decide whether it feels genuine. When activism is treated as a campaign, it can feel hollow. But when it’s built into the foundations of a brand, it becomes something much more powerful: a reason for customers to trust and stay loyal.
Not every brand needs to speak on every issue. In many cases, knowing when to stay quiet is just as important as knowing when to take a stand. But for brands that choose to engage, consistency, transparency, and alignment are what make the difference.
Ultimately, the question isn’t whether brands can be activist and still sell. It’s whether they can do it in a way that people genuinely believe.
