SOCIAL-ETHICAL MARKETING TRANSFORMATION IN WAR CONDITIONS: THE IMPACT OF BRAND SOCIAL POSITION ON CONSUMER LOYALTY

The article examines the transformation of social and ethical marketing in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war and substantiates the influence of the brand's social position on the formation of consumer loyalty. The relevance of the issue is determined by profound changes in the functioning of markets, consumer behavior and the principles of business-society interaction during the war period, which increases the requirements for ethics, transparency and social responsibility of brands. It is established that under such conditions, marketing goes beyond the limits of instrumental stimulation of demand and acquires the features of a socially responsible mechanism aimed at harmonizing the economic interests of enterprises with the needs of society and the ethical expectations of consumers. The study summarizes theoretical approaches to social and ethical marketing, justifies the shift in emphasis from declarative social responsibility to the real social position of business, and clarifies the meaning of the concept of "social brand position" as a systemic set of value orientations, public statements, and practical actions of the enterprise integrated into the marketing strategy. It is proven that the social position of the brand in wartime plays the role of an identification marker that allows consumers to correlate the brand with their own values, and the discrepancy between statements and actions leads to a loss of trust and reputational risks. The mechanisms of influence of social and ethical marketing practices on consumer behavior are analyzed and it is shown that the structure of motivation of consumer choice in wartime is supplemented by emotional and value components. It is substantiated that the act of purchase is increasingly gaining symbolic significance as a form of brand support that shares socially important values, which enhances repeat purchases, recommendation behavior, and reduces sensitivity to price changes. The generalization of the author's approach allowed us to identify key elements of the brand's social position in wartime and interpret their interaction as the basis for a holistic brand perception. The scientific and practical result of the study is the development of a system of criteria and indicators for assessing the brand's social position in the Russian-Ukrainian war, which includes the brand's value certainty, the practical implementation of social responsibility, the ethics of marketing communications, the strategic consistency of the social position, and the level of consumer trust and loyalty.