Thank you, Janine, for the wonderful presentation! It is definitely a fascinating topic that resonates with all of us, as no one could have escaped being impacted by some or many of these brand messages.
I would like to ask why you use the term “moderate” CSR. I was wondering whether the qualitative modifier is necessary for this context as you are not examining brand strategies as a whole, but solo campaign pieces. It might have been the case that some of these pieces were part of an extensive CSR action. Could you tell us more about why you chose to say moderate?
I was also thinking about the way you apply the concept of newsjacking to your analysis. First, I want to say that I found how you build your argument creating a relation between CSR and newsjacking remarkably interesting and original! But I was wondering whether we could also see it in a reverse way: the pandemic was the one “brandjacking” companies’ marketing strategy. I say that from a personal perspective. Until September 2020, I was responsible for the branding of a large industry. More specifically, I was responsible for the marketing and content of the company’s e-commerce store. When the pandemic broke out in March 2020, I suddenly saw my entire annual planning vanish. All I was left with was doubts about what would happen shortly. This level of uncertainty was something very new for the vast majority of the industries, and marketing professionals like me had to make decisions entirely in the dark. The only certainty we had was that there was not one person in the world that would not be affected somehow by this crisis. Therefore, brands had no other option than to join the conversation. That is why when I saw your study, I had the feeling that at least this time, it was the brands that had been hijacked by the news. Would that make sense to you?
Well, I’m passionate about this discussion, and I could go on and on here. I’m glad you will have the chance to discuss your instigating work this afternoon!