Today, audiences are shaping the cultural agenda. Empowered to speak up for the causes they believe in, people are actively calling out brands they see as inauthentic. What are the main drivers of this behavioural shift? And how can brands win the trust of these outspoken advocates?

The past decade has seen political polarisation – accelerated by social media’s filter bubbles and echo chambers – deepen and mutate. An ominous era of a polycrisis has shattered any remaining societal consensus. Meanwhile, powerful anti-establishment voices have stepped into the void.

With increasing societal challenges, people are demanding decisive social action from brands now, more than ever – but this could come at a cost. Canvas8 spoke to Dr. Sourjo Mukherjee, a marketing professor at Audencia Business School, to find out how brands can court controversy without contention.

The controversies surrounding the 2022 Qatar World Cup prompted many brands to consider taking a stance to appeal to purpose-driven consumers. But would this do more harm than good? Canvas8 spoke to Amitava Chattopadhyay about how brands may navigate people's values in a global economy.

In the Understanding Allyship Deep Dive, we explore how brands reacted to the BLM protests in 2020, unpicking how people want them to show support and the consequences of offering only surface-level action. What role should individuals and businesses play in tackling social issues?