From committed to engaging brands

Brands are moving from performative activism to actively engaging with causes their customers care about. This shift ensures genuine impact, avoids "washing" accusations, and builds trust by aligning with consumer values and providing tangible results.

The relationship between brands and the causes they support has evolved from "commited brands" to "engaging brands" .

Previously, brands would declare their commitment to a social issue in a self-proclaimed approach without considering the impact on the cause itself. They were content saying they were committed, without specifying by whom, as if this passive phrasing satisfied them.

Now, the perspective has changed. Brands no longer choose a cause thinking it's an end in itself, but do so while considering the fate and future of the cause. This avoids accusations of greenwashing or pinkwashing – and the resulting backlash – because consumers can ensure the brand has a real effect: it provides proof and results of its commitment, legitimising its link to the cause, in the active sense. Consumers no longer passively receive a top-down message but share the values of a brand that truly influences things and acts to improve people's lives.

An engaging brand manages to commit to values or issues its community already cares about, stimulating their underlying motivations. It no longer picks a random issue but can be more selective because the Ipsos survey "Brands and CSR" shows which causes and brands French people feel closest to. For example, Groupama fans are most committed to fighting deforestation, Netflix fans to women's rights, Ricard fans to preserving traditional cultures and know-how, Absolut fans to inclusion, and Bic fans to promoting diversity.

But which comes first – the brand or the cause? Do Bic's variety and accessibility make French people transpose its vocation into a social role? Or do they decode its positioning ("Diversity and education are an integral part of our DNA") through its products? Bic has always championed diversity of opinions, cultures and people, and consumers believe their origin is to make writing accessible to everyone and allow them to express their individuality. The SNCF would also be in its place by committing to reducing carbon emissions and fighting gender discrimination – causes its fans care about.

Identifying which causes a brand's fans feel strongly about allows it to commit naturally, creating legitimacy. An alliance between McDonald's, La Roche-Posay and campaigns against street harassment would be less absurd than it seems, given their shared consumer base.

The other risk is the cause gets distorted and consumers lose sight of it. Second-hand was meant to encourage recycling and reduce new purchases but has become an opportunity for fast fashion's compulsive buyers, accelerating consumption.

An engaging brand functions on active responsibility. Discovering Doliprane was made in China shocked French people because the company was no longer the imagined national flagship. Repatriating paracetamol production to France is not just a technical solution to labour shortage and transport problems, it is a form of symbolic re-engagement.