SPONSORED CONTENT
Carol Gstalder
Senior Solutions Consultant and Corporate Reputation Advisor
Heart+Mind Strategies
cgstalder@heartandmindstrategies.com
419-610-7593
There’s been a lot of buzz about corporate “brand purpose” lately, as well as skepticism. Does it represent a real opportunity for companies or is it just another marketing fad?
I firmly believe that identifying a company’s deep core purpose, beyond delivering profit, can be a key to unlocking greater value and generating the kind of stakeholder engagement that gives a corporation strength and staying power.
Why am I optimistic about corporate brand purpose? Here are a few key reasons:
Identifying a deeper purpose is energizing and rallies not only consumers but also employees, investors and the broader communities in which firms operate. A shared sense of purpose can build alignment among all the stakeholder groups who influence a company’s success. Organizations with deeper stakeholder trust perform better; build a reservoir of goodwill; attract and retain talent; and recover more quickly from crisis.
As trust in traditional institutions (political, judicial, economic, religious) has plummeted, consumers are increasingly looking to corporations to use their leverage as responsible world citizens with an obligation toward a sustainable future. According to a 2018 study by Edelman, an amazing 46% of consumers believe that “brands have better ideas for solving our country’s problems than government” and 64% of consumers around the world say they would “make purchases based on what a company stands for.”
There’s proof that doing good can also mean doing well. For instance, Unilever announced in June 2019 that “…its purpose-led Sustainable Living Brands are growing 68% faster than the rest of the business and developing 75% of the company’s growth.”
Defining and committing to a clear brand purpose can have a marked impact. However, implementing purpose requires a disciplined and thorough approach. Key considerations include:
- Finding an area of purpose that makes sense for your company brand. Ideally, purpose should grow organically from the firm’s businesses. For instance, Patagonia’s commitment to environmental issues grows intuitively from its products for outdoor adventurers. It’s authentic and part of Patagonia’s DNA.
- Ensuring the purpose you identify fits with stakeholder expectations. This means understanding the views and values of diverse stakeholders, appropriately aligning the expression of purpose with stakeholder expectations and developing plans to mitigate potential risk or opposition.
- Driving the sense of purpose through the organization. To be motivating and credible, a sense of purpose must be understood and embraced by employees before resonating externally. This is much more than a simple communications challenge – it must be woven into organizational development goals; the brands and functions within the company; and ultimately in the communities in which you operate.
For more thinking and helpful case studies on how companies can develop and activate brand purpose, look for invitations from Quirk’s to our October 23 webinar.