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Empirical evidence concerning the effects of brand activism on brand equity is growing but remains mixed at best. Although non-profit brands increasingly implement activism initiatives, there are not yet any studies that look outside the commercial sector. Non-profit brands are well placed to step up and engage in political dialogue—social change is at their core. Yet, the risks of neglecting a warm charitable image are considerable in terms of alienating current supporters and losing donations. Our research contributes to this debate by employing signalling theory to examine the effects of non-profit brand activism on brand equity in the 'third sector'. The mediating roles of brand bravery and brand hypocrisy in this central relationship are also explored. Survey data were obtained from 518 British respondents and analysed using structural equation modelling. Our results show evidence of partial serial mediation, where the direct negative effect of non-profit brand activism on brand equity is eliminated in the presence of brand bravery and brand hypocrisy. Interestingly, in studying the mediated-moderation links, we also find the strengthening effects of a donor's moral foundations at play. Our study suggests that there are equity gains for non-profit brands that shed traditional 'warmth' positioning and embrace activism and bravery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting and clearly communicating a higher purpose has become a key priority for many brands. More and more commercial organizations see purposeful branding as the next competitive advantage and are aligning themselves with a worthy cause or societal issue. Non-profit organizations (NPOs), which arguably are inherently purpose-driven, should also be leveraging the power of brand purpose. This paper studies brand purpose within the NPO space and explores different dimensions of purpose communicated through social media, namely Facebook. Twenty brands across five broad NPO categories of Community Development, Education/Children, Culture, International and Environment were chosen. Four key purpose dimensions emerged: CHANGE, SUPPORT, EMPOWER, and FIGHT. Further analysis of the diversification versus concentration of these purpose dimensions indicated that only a few of the brands communicated a single purpose on their Facebook page. Most NPO brands examined adopted a multidimensional brand purpose. This study adds to the brand communication literature and offers managerial implications for NPOs considering brand purpose strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten thousand new organisations are joining the charity sector each year (Hankinson 2000). One of the ways in which charities are responding to this increased competition is to adopt commercial branding techniques (Tapp 1996; Ritchie, Swami et al. 1998). It has been suggested that brand orientation can help to raise awareness amongst target audiences (Hankinson 2000), build loyalty within donor and supporter groups (Ritchie, Swami et al. 1998] and facilitate donor choice (Hankinson 2000). This paper investigates what is understood by the term brand, what constitutes a brand in the charity environment and what organisational objectives a brand strategy seeks to achieve. It also explores the role played by values in developing charity brands. The research is primarily exploratory in nature, drawing on existing branding theory. The findings of the research are reviewed within the context of for-profit and not-for-profit branding literature. Recommendations for further research are also made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this research was to explore interpretations of brand success in the context of a selection of comparable newer UK universities. A total of twenty-four interviews were undertaken. The data analysis applied a systematic process of analysis (recursive abstraction). Location was identified as being a fundamental antecedent of brand success. Without the heritage and history of older institutions, newer universities have needed to find a way to appeal to their audiences, who often expect them to be offering something unique. These universities have focussed on incorporating location into their branding and marketing communications to ensure their uniqueness of message. The data also demonstrates that where a university doesn't have a sustained heritage of its own, it draws upon the heritage of the destination in which it resides. Moreover, the extent to which a university engages with its local community was also identified as important. Universities that were embedded into the fabric of their local community were seen in a more favourable light as a result. Furthermore, this research suggests how brand identity can be combined with location to create a brand personality that will be aligned to the location's operational features as well as its emotional benefits. Of particular interest also, this research reinforces literature which asserts that consumers choose to connect with locations that best enable them to create and express their own desired identity (Kemp et al., 2012). Finally, the data shows that students consider their university choice in the context of staying in or near their university location after graduating. Therefore, the type of employment, cultural and social opportunities a town or city offers is an important factor. The cost of living bore a close relationship to the overall image of the location, with different motivations from students influencing whether they were looking for somewhere they could keep their costs down or pay a premium for a more culturally rounded experience in a large city, for example. This research has important managerial implications in developing and executing branding strategies in the HE context as it suggests that the various attributes of the university location (whether based on the heritage, culture or the surrounding natural environment), can be used to create distinctive brand images which enable an opportunity for differentiation from competitors, which is fundamental in such a competitive marketplace as HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]