Perception of CSR Motives In CSR Covid-19 Messages: Implications on Brand Equity, Brand Trust and Brand Advocacy

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed almost every aspect in life, including in business. At the beginning of covid-19 pandemic, many companies issued special communications from their Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to give assurance to their customers on their commitment and their ability to continue fulfilling the needs and wants of their customers. As the pandemic became more serious each day, companies in Indonesia redirected their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts to try to alleviate the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic for society, especially for their customers. This paper aims to investigate how customers perceived the CSR Covid-19 messages from companies, and how their perception of the CSR motives behind these messages affects brand equity, brand trust and brand advocacy. Research questionnaires were distributed in areas with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia (Jakarta, East Java and West Java) with the minimum target of 300 respondents. A Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was conducted to discover the relationship between the aforementioned variables in the research model.