Publications Archives - BlackBar Consulting

The Measure of a Brand – Your Brand’s Moral Foundations and Its Bottom Line

Introduction

In a previous post, we reported findings from a study in which we had adapted Haidt’s Moral Foundation theory to measure the moral and ethical values of a brand. Using Jonathan Haidt’s framework for measuring what he calls people’s “Moral Foundations” we created a methodology that successfully was able to do the same for brands; our findings, about the relevance of different moral values of brands to political conservatives and liberals, closely converge on Haidt’s measurement of people’s values. In this post, we show that moral values are related to many conventional brand attitudes and attributes. This means that moral values can impact the value of a brand and its branded business. Specifically, we show the progressive and hierarchical nature of Moral Foundations’ influence on brand development.

To Thine Own Brand Be True – Knowing Your Brands Moral Foundation

Introduction

The personality of a brand is routinely measured utilizing the same descriptors used for classifying the personalities of people. However, until now, there was no way we were aware of to measure the moral and ethical values of a brand. We thought it would be illuminating to develop such an instrument. Adapting Jonathan Haidt’s framework for measuring what he calls people’s “Moral Foundations” we created a methodology that successfully was able to do just that; our findings, about the relevance of different moral values of brands to political conservatives and liberals, closely converge on Haidt’s. In the light of the increasingly divisive and polarized atmosphere in the United States and many countries, worldwide, we feel the measurement of a brand’s Moral Foundations is not just another brand model, but an essential tool for managing that brand’s political and financial futures.