Perception and Sentiment Analysis on Empathic Brand Initiative During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Indonesia Perspective

This study aims to evaluate the empathic brand initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia and analyse the online sentiments toward the philanthropy of corporations, non-profits organisations, citizens and society. Sentiment analysis was conducted on related posts of 15 companies from March to June 2020 with varying preliminary times for each company as the first donor. To complete the perception, the authors conducted a focus group discussion (FGD). Research shows that medium size and small–medium enterprises, such as local cosmetic companies and budget hotel are the first donors, followed by large or multinational companies (MNCs). In contrary with previous research, public perception was not influenced by the amount and the time of giving but was impacted by communication strategies, the empathy of the brand itself, and the company behaviour before COVID-19 period. This research’s novelty is the emphatic communication model to create, maintain and protect a company’s reputation.