A literature review of brand bravery, brand activism, and sustainable branding as contemporary branding strategies: The Social Marketing new era

Brand management literature is continuously developing in response to the fast-moving business environment. The notions of brand bravery, sustainable branding, and brand activism have recently emerged as promising social marketing and branding strategies. However, our understanding of these specific concepts is limited due to the scarcity of relevant academic literature. This paper aims to provide a review of the existing literature on brand bravery that contributes to developing a robust understanding of the concept in relation to the other overlapping concepts of brand activism and sustainable branding and propose them as brand management strategies for today's brands. The findings of this study indicate that on the one hand, brand bravery is a distinctive brand personality attribute that is likely to trigger positive outcomes, i.e., consolidating brand identity, credibility, authenticity, and brand equity. On the other hand, brand bravery could also backfire. The study also confirms that while the concepts of brand bravery, brand activism, and sustainable branding are related and can overlap, they each have their unique focuses. This study serves the interests of marketing scholars and professionals alike and provides valuable implications for researchers and practitioners.