Consumer attitudes toward brand supportive communication during geopolitical crises

• Local consumers show stronger support for global brands in geopolitical crises. • Global brands supportive messages are perceived as riskier, enhancing consumer evaluations. • Even small solidarity messages improve consumer attitudes toward brands. • The findings extend research on brand activism and brand locality. • Results offer guidance for brand communication in polarized environments. Geopolitical events increasingly challenge global brand management as contemporary consumers expect brands to engage with social issues. This research examines how local consumers respond to support messages from brands during geopolitical crises, focusing on differences between global and local brands. Across four preregistered experiments and a field study involving 154 brands conducted during a geopolitical conflict, we find that local consumers show more favorable attitudes toward global brands that express support for their communities. This effect is less pronounced for local brands. Global brands receive more favorable evaluations, primarily because their supportive actions are perceived as riskier—an impression that enhances consumer responses. Notably, even small gestures, such as solidarity messages, can positively influence consumer attitudes. These findings offer valuable managerial guidance for global companies operating in polarized contexts and contribute to theoretical discussions on brand crisis management and brand locality.