Following a number of politically and socially polarising events unfolding on the global stage, brands have come under heightened scrutiny to respond. Canvas8 spoke to Dr. Francesca Sobande about the role of brands in social justice advocacy in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Dr. Francesca Sobande is the author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain, Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19, and Big Brands Are Watching You: Marketing Social Justice and Digital Culture. She is a writer and reader in digital media studies, and her areas of expertise include popular and meme culture, Black media and visual culture, feminism and consumer culture, and brand responses to injustices and crises. Dr. Sobande’s research has been published in international journals, including Cultural Studies, Marketing Theory, Journal of Consumer Research, and European Journal of Marketing.
Bailey Bellingy is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. After completing a BSc in social sciences, she joined the world of cultural insights. Throughout her degree, Bailey gained experience across social research methods, focusing on sociology, gender, and race studies. With experience on a range of qualitative projects, her practice focuses on incorporating diverse narratives. Outside of Canvas8, she can be found stocking up on Glossier or browsing Jane’s Patisserie for recipes.