Queer people's responses to LGBTQ+ brand activism and its effect on brand loyalty

当前的营销格局正在经历重大变化，消费者越来越多地期望品牌参与品牌激进主义，即在社会政治问题上采取立场。许多品牌乐于在6月份LGBTQ+社区庆祝骄傲月的时候满足这一需求。货架上排列着Pride的产品，各品牌发布了Pride的限量版，社交媒体品牌的标志通过添加彩虹-LGBTQ+社区的象征-变得更加五颜六色。尽管有这些活动家的努力，但针对LGBTQ+社区的仇恨犯罪和仇恨言论大幅增加，LGBTQ+人群的权利不断受到攻击。因此，了解LGBTQ+社区成员如何应对品牌激进主义比以往任何时候都更加重要，特别是因为这是一个直接影响到他们和他们的福祉的问题。因此，我的目标是探索同性恋消费者在骄傲月期间对LGBTQ+品牌激进主义的反应，以及它如何影响品牌忠诚度。对于这个项目，我将从Twitter、Reddit和Tumblr收集数据，并对LGBTQ+参与者进行半结构化访谈，采取交叉方法，考虑年龄和性别也可能影响反应的因素。这项研究可以让LGBTQ+的人在一个直接影响他们的话题上发声，从而对他们产生积极的影响。此外，这项研究可以帮助实践者创建真正有利于LGBTQ+社区的活动。最后，这项研究回应了一个新出现的现象，从而填补了文献中的一个空白，其他学者可以在未来的研究中建立起来。

The current marketing landscape is going through major changes with consumers increasingly expecting brands to engage in brand activism, i.e. to take a stance on socio-political issues. Many brands are happy to comply with this demand during June when the LGBTQ+ community celebrates Pride Month. Shelves are lined with Pride products, brands release limited Pride editions, and social media brand logos become more colourful by adding the rainbow - a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite these activist efforts, there has been a significant increase in hate crimes and hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community, with the rights of LGBTQ+ people continuously under attack. Hence, it is more important than ever to understand how members of the LGBTQ+ community respond to brand activism, especially since it is an issue directly affecting them and their well-being. Therefore, I aim to explore how queer consumers respond to LGBTQ+ brand activism during Pride Month and how it impacts brand loyalty. For this project, I will collect data from Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr, and conduct semi-structured interviews with LGBTQ+ participants whereby I will take an intersectional approach and consider age and gender as factors possibly influencing responses, too. This research can impact LGBTQ+ people positively by giving them a voice on a topic directly affecting them. Additionally, this study can aid practitioners in creating campaigns that genuinely benefit the LGBTQ+ community. Finally, the study responds to a newly emerging phenomenon and thus fills a gap in the literature, which fellow scholars can build on in future research.