Ambiguous branding and the politics of inclusion: Segregative and integrative inclusion in social movements

Abstract

Marketing scholars have shown growing interest in how marketing can be harnessed within social movements to mobilize support. In this paper, we apply a critical socio-spatial analysis to the Algerian pro-democracy movement, Hirak—a movement branded as inclusive—to theorize the relationship between social movement branding strategies and inclusion. Our ethnographic research uncovers a disconnect between the Hirak brand’s inclusive framing and the lived experiences of feminist protestors. We demonstrate how ambiguity in branding “inclusion” can operate as a mechanism to show solidarity and a tool for marginalization. We contribute to marketing scholarship by illuminating the complexities of inclusion, particularly its integrative and segregative expressions across rhetorical, symbolic, and physical spaces. A central contribution of this study is showing how critical analysis of social movement spaces reveals the role of ambiguous branding in marginalizing identities while maintaining an appearance of inclusivity. We demonstrate that ambiguity plays a pivotal role in constructing “inclusive” brands, warranting closer examination, especially as inclusion becomes a central yet contested theme in contemporary branding. Without such scrutiny, inclusive branding initiatives risk simplifying the complexities of inclusion and reinforcing existing consumer experiences of exclusion.