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Why purpose? - An instigation from WSJ article + other sources
The document discusses the gap between brands' stated purposes and their actual delivery on those purposes according to consumer surveys. While many brands claim to stand for meaningful causes, few actually deliver on those promises in a way that impacts consumers. The document provides strategies for brands to better align their purposes with substantive actions, including accepting stakeholder expectations, confronting critical groups, and making bold decisions to transcend paradoxes. Examples are given of brands that prioritize purpose over profits and effectively show their commitments through creative and interactive experiences that engage audiences. Overall, the document advocates for brands to integrate their purposes more fully into their operations and communications in order to build trust with consumers.
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Why purpose? - An instigation from WSJ article + other sources
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- 3. According to Edelman, • There is a widening gap between what people expect and what many brands and organizations deliver. • While 92% of consumers want to do business with companies that share their values, only 14% have faith in business or believe that brands engage them well. •Additionally, 40% of consumers don’t think brands are doing enough to demonstrate their beliefs in helping the world.
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- 5. • The average Fortune 500 company spends anywhere from $50 to $100 million annually on activities ranging from sustainability to CSR to cause branding • One could argue that, as an industry, we could do a lot better. The sizeable gap between people’s expectations and experiences isn’t just a missed business opportunity. •It’s a chance to radically transform the way purpose comes to market.
- 6. Brand with aPurpose V/S Purpose driven brand
- 7. What is aBRAND PURPOSE? “The own able, actionable impact your brand will make on the lives of your target consumers, rooted in a fundamental insight. It resides at the intersection of what your brand offers the world and your consumer’s deepest cares and desires.” -Harbinger
- 8. Brands with a Purpose • A plethora of brands that claim to stand for a higher purpose Purpose driven brands •They not only translate their values into substantive actions—from supply chain overhauls to the development of environmentally sound products— they effectively bridge the divide between internal corporate activities and everyday consumer experiences. • Their purpose is made both literal and visceral, impacting more people in meaningful ways. There is a wide gap between Brands with a Purpose & Purpose driven Brands V/S
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- 11. • There isno longer a conflict between doing the “right thing” and “commercial success” • In fact, there is a complex interaction of factors that has the characteristics of a paradox – a situation in which oppositional tendencies are brought into close contact. • The challenge is how to use such paradoxes to inform creative tension, leading to innovation and growth. The ones who resolve the paradox, follow a three step predictable path, ACCEPT them CONFRONT them figure out how to TRANSCEND them
- 12. Acceptance: ● Clearly articulatewhat a broad variety of stakeholders expect from your company over the short, medium and long-term – pay attention both to non-obvious ones who may not be vocal, and to those who may appear excessively vocal or negative. ● Understand and collectively acknowledge what the paradoxes are between these views and positions. An ability to hold these frequently conflicting views, without succumbing to the need to reduce discomfort and anxiety, is a key leadership trait.
- 13. Confrontation: ● Reach outto stakeholder groups that have been highly critical of your corporation. Several leading companies have entered into negotiation processes with groups such as NGOs and indigenous communities to make themselves heard in the corporate decision-making activity. ● Recognize that it may take time to resolve a paradox that is heavily embedded in old structures. As the CEO of a leading food company recently told, ‘we could sell those businesses – but we would only be giving the problem to someone else. We could shut them down – but the market space would not go away and another company’s products would fill it. The only responsible reaction is to evolve customer taste away from over consumption of harmful products. This is our ethical responsibility and it will take time’.
- 14. Transcendence: ● Don’t strategizeusing old labels regarding what industry you are in, or what it takes to succeed in that industry, as it only paints half the picture, and may become increasingly redundant. For example, are you a drinks company which makes money from the sale of alcoholic beverages – and your growth is dependent on increased consumption with corresponding health and social consequences? Or are you a company that makes social interactions more successful? This reframing opens up space for innovation and growth from many different types of products and services as well. ● Make and announce brave decisions, rather than just statements of purpose, to stop doing things that are out of alignment with your ‘purpose’. What you will start doing is as important as what you will stop doing in the process of transformation.
- 15. Acceptance Confrontation Transcendence ++ = Significant decisions grounded in a deep understanding of purpose characterized by a quiet sense of service to something greater than the immediate needs of customers and short- term demands of investors.
- 16. The failure toresolve paradoxes between “purpose” and “performance” can lead to ● Cynicism ● low levels of trust in the authenticity of the corporation and its leaders ● increases in regulation and fines by governments ● a failure to attract high quality employees ● and a failure to grow, innovate, and provide a return to investors
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- 19. HOW? • Today, it’s not what you stand for, but how you stand for it that matters most. • "How" is arguably the most crucial factor when it comes making or breaking a brand’s success. VirginAmerica Virgin America is a California-based airline that is on a mission to make flying good again, with brand new planes, attractive fares, top-notch service, and a host of fun, innovative amenities that are reinventing domestic air travel.
- 20. BE BOLDER • We need more game-changing examples of brands that elevate purpose to the level of extraordinary • There is a spectrum of bold along which purposeful companies can play. •On one side of the spectrum, there’s clever. Clever draws people in and creates a certain level of engagement and buzz. Promoted its battery technology over competitors’ through an unbeatable blend of design and showmanship Democratized banking by letting anyone around the world transfer money instantly via email, is game- changing Making app enables designers everywhere to develop sustainable apparel using the most advanced materials and methods
- 21. CONNECT THE DOTS • Too often, purpose remains siloed off as a corporate or operational activity, not one that’s integrated into the brand itself. •Lately, however, more brands are connecting the dots and taking a more balanced approach to communications. One out of every 5 children do not know where their next meal is coming from. Project Sunshine is working towards achieving “No child should suffer from hunger”. It is not only backed by an extensive sustainable business strategy and employee engagement effort, it’s aimed at changing consumer behaviour. It establishes a strong point of view, endears people to the brand and helps consumers create a better future for children through their purchases, personal relationships, social media activities, and more.
- 22. GET MULTI-SENSORY • Most brands rely on static content to relay their commitments to the world. • But lately some unusually creative approaches have emerged from unexpected players and such interactivity leaves a totally different impression, one that really sticks Techgiant HP (another Edelman client) unveiled Earth Insights, an environmental partnership with non-profit group Conservation International. HP built a multi-dimensional experience, consisting of a living wall of rainforest plants embedded with touch screens containing a series of provocative data visualizations. As journalists, customers, employees, and partners approached the installation and engaged with the visualizations, they were able to see, touch, discover, and feel the power of HP technology for themselves.
- 23. LET PEOPLE RUN WITH IT • Most of the purpose related campaigns were born from ideas worth spreading. • They used culturally aware, creatively brilliant digital methods to engage audiences and make them a part of the story itself. InFollow the Frog’s case, Rainforest Alliance lovingly lampooned it’s target audience, poking fun at their aspirations to lead ecologically minded lifestyles, while pointing to the fact that making sustainable purchasing decisions is now simple and easy. In the case of The Scarecrow, the target audience was given the opportunity to experience the dark side of food sourcing through a captivating video, iPad game, and in-store experience that encouraged better food choices and brand loyalty.
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- 25. According to Larry Merlo, CEO, “it’s the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health,” 2. Unilever: Paul Polman, the CEO announced that shareholders should sell if they did not agree with his decision to stop giving quarterly results and focus on the long-term creation of value that is “equitable, shared and sustainable.” 1. CVSPharmacy: Mars has sought to align its activities with its stated purpose of “better food today, a better world tomorrow” through saying to customers that “new labeling will indicate how often it is recommended you consume these products, based on how long it takes the body to restore balance after eating these meals.” 3. Mars
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- 28. • Audi’s #DriveProgresscommercial was aimed at striking an emotional chord with many, creating a tension around the topic of gender equality. • The ad has garnered over 12m YouTube views but with a very polarising 45% v/s 55% ratio of likes to dislikes, and very negative comments from disgruntled consumers who threatened to never buy an Audi again. • The commercial was unsuccessful in creating this empathy as many male viewers regarded it as anti-male and feminist. V/S • The company created another ad focused on gender equality in Spain last Christmas that generated significantly more positive feedback (94% likes v/s 6% dislikes) • In the Spanish Audi ad, the gender stereotypes that surround the traditionally male focused motor industry is highlighted through the way the choice of toys for boys and girls are expected to fit socially defined norms
- 29. Lessons learnt • Lesson 1: Build a strong link between your product or business and the social POV • Lesson 2: Your belief and POV needs to be clearly backed up by your on- going actions •Lesson 3: Build from a point of credibility • Lesson 4: A shared fiction is more valuable than communicating facts • Lesson 5: Whilst a social cause is usually serious, engagement can be more fun • Lesson 6: Choose your enemy carefully (In terms of scripts and ideas)
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