For pretty understandable reasons people worry about political polarization in the world. The US seems to be a classic example of this. It is easy to see strong tensions between people with radically different views. Given this, it makes sense that marketing researchers have studied the topic of political polarization and brand preference. How does such polarization impact the brands you like?
Brands Have Political Positions
The first thing to note is that a brand’s position matters. Some firms are seen as more Democratic and some more Republican. I constantly see people saying that business should be non-political. If they make that statement about what their ideal world is like that is great. I wish we all lived happy, healthy lives that were much longer, plus why not add that all my jokes work. We can all wish for stuff but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen. Your personal taste might be that you don’t want your brands to have any political connections and that is great. All brands being completely divorced from politics won’t happen in our world, but feel free to dream.
Some Disapprove, But Only If It Isn’t Their Position
A caveat is that sometimes people don’t want brands to be politically involved with causes that they don’t support. Someone might think brands shouldn’t have an opinion on gay rights but opinions on tax policy are fine. That isn’t a principled position, it isn’t even a coherent wish. If you want brands to be socially and politically uninvolved that is great — your personal taste — but then they need to be totally quiet socially and politically. Else they are politically involved which you don’t want. Lobbying is political involvement. If you aren’t working to ban that then you aren’t serious about divorcing business from politics.
Other people argue that no brands should be politically aligned but their argument isn’t taste-based. Instead, they assert this as a recommendation made for commercial reasons. That is really weird. Honestly, I don’t get the logic. If customers care about political issues, then it makes sense to cater to them. Sure, you might turn some people off, but you might gain the loyalty of more. Strident political positions can be a loser commercially, but they don’t necessarily have to be. (Think Fox News). We need a few more details before commenting about whether a brand’s involvement in politics is commercially advisable. If you have a blanket belief that getting involved politically is bad commercially you need to open your mind a bit. Like pretty much any strategy, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The trick is knowing when, not saying that it can’t.
Polarization And Brand Preference
In 2023 Verena Schoenmueller and colleagues looked at how political polarization manifests in the US. This paper focuses on the first Trump administration.
We observe increased polarization in preferences, behavioral intentions, and actual purchase decisions for consumer brands.
Schoenmueller, Netzer, and Stahl (2023) page 48
They found that liberal tastes became more polarized after Donald Trump’s 2016 election more than Republicans. The logic being that group had their identities threatened by losing the election. They had to make up for this by being more strident in brands they followed, their brand preference, and their purchases. This was a commercial opportunity.
Polarization In 2025
This paper came out during Joe Biden’s presidency and focused on the period after Donald Trump’s first victory. Things have moved on. Now we are in the second Trump presidency it would be interesting to know what is happening. Moving beyond the government’s willingness to get involved in picking favored firms, what is happening to consumers? Are liberals doubling down (so more opportunity), or are they more resigned than the first time (likely less opportunity? Should brands be appealing to them more? It really depends. What is the opportunity for more conservative brands? Lots to think about.
For more on polarization and Brand Preference see Distribution Of Preferences Matters and Not Aiding An Opposing Group
Read: Verena Schoenmueller , Oded Netzer , and Florian Stahl (2023) Frontiers: Polarized America: From Political Polarization to Preference Polarization, Marketing Science, 42 (1), page 48-60
