big brands are watching you: marketing social justice and digital culture

How is morality understood in the marketplace? Why do brands speak out about certain issues of injustice and not others? And what is influencer culture’s role in social and political activism?

Big Brands Are Watching You​ (University of California Press) investigates corporate culture, from the branding of companies and nations to television portrayals of big business and the workplace (Industry, Partner Track, Severance, Succession, The Bold Type, You). Francesca Sobande analyzes media, interviews, survey responses, and ephemera from the history of advertising as well as exhibitions in London, brand stores in Amsterdam, a music festival in Las Vegas, and archives in Washington, DC, to illuminate the world of branding.

To read and download the freely available Chapter 1 – Setting the Scene: Social Justice for Sale, click here. The discount code for 30% off the book from University of California Press (US) or Wiley (UK/) is: UCPSAVE30

Events related to the book have included the Inaugural Talk for “The Race in the Marketplace (RIM) Global Dialogue Series Across Race and Markets”, which involved a conversation between Francesca and Professor Sonya A. Grier (American University) on 26 March, 2024, in addition to a conversation between Francesca and Professor Anthony Kwame Harrison (Virginia Tech) on 1 April, 2024.

CONSUMING CRISIS: COMMODIFYING CARE AND COVID-19

Consuming Crisis is a crucial account of how consumer culture capitalised on Coronavirus (COVID-19). Sobande explores how brands claim to care while they encourage people to ‘keep calm and consume’. This critical analysis of the power and politics of marketing examines an eclectic mix of campaigns, content, and experiences. Such work outlines the societal significance of fast-fashion adverts, banana bread’s pandemic ‘moment’, university social media strategies, and how digital technology mediates memories and work. Overall, Sobande considers how brands construct care, camaraderie, culture, and so-called ‘normal’ life during times of crisis.

Open access chapter: Beyond the Pretense of ‘Brand Activism’

BLACK OOT HERE: BLACK LIVES IN SCOTLAND

What does it mean to be Black in Scotland today? How are notions of nationhood, Scottishness, and Britishness implicated in this? Why is it important to archive and understand Black Scottish history? Reflecting on the past to make sense of the present, Francesca Sobande and layla-roxanne hill explore the history and contemporary lives of Black people in Scotland. Based on intergenerational interviews, survey responses, photography, and analysis of media and archived material, this book offers a unique snapshot of Black Scottish history and recent twenty-first century realities. Focusing on a wide range of experiences of education, work, activism, media, creativity, public life, and politics, Black Oot Here (Bloomsbury, 2022) presents a vital account of Black lives in Scotland, while carefully considering the future that may lie ahead. For 30% off it, at Bloomsbury’s checkout use the code: BOHFSLRH22

THE DIGITAL LIVES OF BLACK WOMEN IN BRITAIN

Based on interviews and archival research, this book explores how media is implicated in Black women’s lives in Britain. From accounts of twentieth-century activism and television representations, to experiences of YouTube and Twitter, Sobande’s analysis traverses tensions between digital culture’s communal, counter-cultural and commercial qualities. The book was published in August 2020 and is a Cultural & Media Studies Bestseller by Palgrave Macmillan. It can be ordered here.

Two open access chapters:

• Black Women and the Media in Britain 

• Black Women's Digital Diaspora, Collectivity, and Resistance

  These events formed the launch of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain and related discussions.

  The Digital Lives and Research of Black Women in Britain

On Tuesday, 6 October, 2020, at 17:30 BST/12:30 PM EST, Black Women Radicals hosted the online conversation, "The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain". The event featured Dr. Francesca Sobande, Rianna Walcott, and keisha bruce. Topics discussed included exploring the digital lives of Black women in Britain; how COVID-19 impacted research and the digital lives of Black women; erasure, exploitation, and commercialisation of Black women’s productions; and the future of digital Blackness and Black digital organising. View the recording here. Access the reading list here.

The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain

On Thursday, 15 October, 2020, at 18:00 BST/13:00 EST/, the Institute of Gender Studies (University of Chester) hosted the online event, "The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain". It featured Dr. Francesca Sobande, Rianna Walcott, and keisha bruce in conversation again. Topics addressed included the early career research experiences of Black women in Britain; Black women’s digital and methodological innovations; and community in Black scholarship.

The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain

On Wednesday, 21 October, 2020, at 15:45 BST/10:45 EST, the School of Media and Communication (University of Leeds) hosted the online event, “The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain". Francesca’s talk drew on over five years of research to address how Black women in Britain are using digital tools in creative, collaborative, and cutting-edge ways, while navigating the prospect of their labour being commodified and co-opted by others.

Black British Digital Humanities

A conversation between Dr. Francesca Sobande, Rianna Walcott, and keisha bruce about their research in Black British Digital Humanities, Francesca’s latest book, the Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain, and their experiences as Black British scholars. Recorded by King’s College London on Tuesday, 27 October, 2020, at 17:00 GMT/13:00 EST. View the recording here.

The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain

On Thursday, 29 October, 2020 at 18:30 GMT/14:30, Fal Fem Society hosted a conversation with Dr Francesca Sobande on “The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain”. The session included discussion of the history of Black women’s media experiences in Britain, contemporary digital activity and consciousness-raising, doing research that involves accessing archiving material, and the doctoral thesis writing process.

The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain: Between creativity, community and commodification

On Wednesday, 11 November, 2020, at 13:00 GMT/17:00 EST, the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre hosted, “The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain: Between creativity, community and commodification”, as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science, and in association with the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Women and Gender Forum. The event recording is available here.

Black Women’s Digital Experiences and Brand “Woke-Washing”

On Friday, 13 November, 2020, at 14:00 GMT/10:00 EST the Department of Sociology at City, University of London hosted “Black Women’s Digital Experiences and Brand “Woke-Washing”. The session focused on the digital and media experiences of Black women in Britain, as well as analysis of how brands attempt to opportunistically project the image that they support Black activists and racial justice movements.

Black Women’s Media Experiences in Britain and the Rise of Brand “Woke-Washing”

On Tuesday, 26 January, 2021, at 17:30 GMT/12:30 EST Black Women Radicals hosted “Black Women’s Media Experiences in Britain and the Rise of Brand ‘Woke-Washing’”. The teach-in launched the “Afrofeminisms in Europe” series by The School for Black Feminist Politics. The session addressed how the lives of Black women in Britain are impacted by the specifics of this geo-cultural context, including power dynamics between Britain's constitutive nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). Focusing on Black women's various media and marketplace encounters, this teach-in also explored the rise of brands trying to attract Black audiences and tap into discourse on anti-Black racism in opportunistic and surface-level ways. The teach-in can be viewed here.

Related recordings and media:

• Surviving Society Presents Alternative to Woman's Hour (E125) on "The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain"

• BBC Radio Wales on "Good Tech, Bad Tech"

• The Voice on “Black women’s digital creativity and online experiences highlighted”

• Spark (CBC) on “The Black experience online”

• Busy Being Black on “The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain”