The point of purpose

I saw the other day that someone had reposted findings from marketing efficiency guru Peter Field’s 2021 talk on brand purpose.  The gist was that ‘brand purpose campaigns perform less well than non brand purpose campaigns’ - which is actually far from the full story.

A lot has been made of brand purpose and it is an essential part of every business’s positioning - and how they do business.  Brand purpose is essentially who you are and what you exist for - increasingly with a focus on businesses’ responsibility to people and the planet.  And let’s face it, this has never been more important.

Brand purpose should impact how you operate, how you treat your employees and the people in your communities and supply chains, and how you strive to improve the impact you have on the planet.  It should form part of your business strategy.

But should it be the main thrust of your comms?

Well, that depends on who you are speaking to, and how and where you do so.  

Your employees will certainly want to hear - and see - the actions you’re taking to improve your impact on people and the planet.  For the most part, they want to be reassured that they’re working for a credible business which is striving to Do The Right Thing.  There have been numerous studies to show how this is increasingly the case for Millennials and Gen Zs.  Also, importantly, they want to understand the plan to deliver this purpose and their part to play in it.

If you are a business with investors, they will certainly want to hear about how you’re delivering your brand purpose through your ESG commitments.

And if you’re a B2B, then chances are your customers will have their own impact targets and will be looking to work with like-minded suppliers wanting - and taking action - to achieve something similar. 

But what about consumers?  Wall-to-wall brand purpose comms may be right for some businesses for whom this constitutes the main reason to work with or buy from them. 

But for the most part, the reality is your customers will have a list of reasons to work with or buy from you.  Price, service levels, attractiveness, efficacy - the list goes on.  Does it matter to them that you have an admirable brand purpose - well, yes, a bit - but not to the detriment of the other stuff?

So knowing how to articulate and where to communicate your brand purpose is key - let’s not ignore something that you’re proud of, that’s meaningful to your customers, or that gives you credibility or competitive differentiation, but let’s ensure it sits alongside your other reasons to buy as part of your wider comms strategy.

So, yes, maybe some brand-purpose campaigns are duds.

But perhaps that’s because they’re pitching ideas that are not credible, or simply talking to customers who are uninterested, or in a space where they’re not prepared to listen.

We shouldn’t abandon brand purpose as a way to improve how we do business - but we need to figure out how to communicate it effectively.