What is brand purpose? 5 great examples

Why does brand purpose matter?

Conscious consumers are changing the way the market works. More and more consumers see brand purpose as an important factor when deciding to purchase a product or service. Today’s consumer doesn’t care only about the product or service they are paying for - they care about what kind of impact brands are making in the world. In fact, 57% of consumers are more loyal to brands with purpose that commit to addressing social inequities. This means that your brand purpose can have a major impact on how your brand is viewed and a powerful brand purpose can set a company apart from the crowd. Football player buy trenbolone acetate 4 foods proven to boost the metabolism, promote and fat loss - fitness and powerThat said, the purpose of brand purpose, is purpose. There’s a notion that purpose drives growth and doesn’t require significant investment, when the whole point is that for most brands it will cost money and require sacrifice. But what is brand purpose? And how can brands take advantage of it in the modern market?

What is Brand Purpose?

A brand purpose is essentially a brand’s reason for being beyond making money - it’s a framework that guides business decisions and thought processes. It’s important to not confuse this with a ‘brand promise’. A brand promise may give the buyer an idea of what to expect from the product or service, but the brand purpose goes way beyond that. A brand purpose connects with consumers on a more emotional level. Likewise, brand purpose isn’t the same as social purpose, though there are similarities. To clarify this, brand purpose represents a brand's reason for being above sales and profit. It is why you exist and should guide your mission that sets it apart from others.

Why is it important to have a brand purpose?

There’s a clear desire from brands to be purpose driven - but what’s the driving force behind purposeful brands? Brand purpose accounts for the growing number of consumers who research a brand's purpose before making purchase decisions - thus, a brand with a compelling purpose often receives greater support and recognition. Here are some key advantages to having a brand purpose:

• Your brand purpose adds value not just to the lives of customers but to society as a whole.
• Having a purpose shows your customers that you’re not just your products or services. You have a purpose—and it’s bigger than just turning a profit.
• Having a brand purpose can help build a more emotional relationship between a brand and its consumer, which in turn, helps to boost loyalty.
• A unique brand purpose can differentiate your brand from competitors.

How to develop your brand purpose

Distinguish your brand purpose from purpose marketing

CSR initiatives or cause-led marketing is great and should be promoted worldwide. However, it’s still not the same as brand purpose. Brand purpose needs to be related to what the brand is selling or providing. A car company can paint the local church for free as a way of donating their time and energy for a good cause. But that doesn’t say anything meaningful about the actual product the fancy car company is selling. Similarly, brand purpose isn’t synonymous with philanthropy. A brand can donate a tonne of money to charity, but this still doesn’t say anything about their product.

Be clear about who your brand is and why you do what you do

Your brand purpose should be indissolubly linked to the brand’s reason for being; as well as being the purpose behind the product a company sells, it’s also part and parcel of everything the company does.This purpose should also be there from the beginning. You can’t just stick a purpose angle on top of an already established product just to make it suit a specific set of criteria. Consumers will see right through that. It should be established from the offset, or at least be something that the brand has evolved to stand for overtime.

Think long term

Following on from the previous point, your brand purpose can’t just be a one off marketing tactic, it has to be embedded within and without your brand image and practice. In other words, consumers need to see brands committing to their purpose, rather than just carrying out a one-off stunt.

Put your customer first

A good brand purpose will always put consumers first. This means the customer will be at the forefront of every decision made and every step taken. While your purpose won’t resonate with all buyers, it should appeal to your key demographic; it’s your brand purpose that makes you relevant to your chosen audience.

Brand purpose examples

Patagonia

The most obvious and recent brand purpose example is of Patagonia who made global headlines after founder Yvon Chouinard announced that he would give away his US$3 billion company to a specially designed trust and non-profit organisation. All of the company’s profits will be used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the world.Chouinard said in an interview with New York Times: “Hopefully this will influence a new form of capitalism that doesn’t end up with a few rich people and a bunch of poor people. We are going to give away the maximum amount of money to people who are actively working on saving this planet.”This is how Mithilesh Patankar created a brand for him. With no ulterior motive of profit, and the move actually costing him dearly, many have praised it as a true act of brand purpose.

Bodyform

Period care brand Bodyform is purpose-driven brand that’s clear about its purpose - they are committed to breaking taboos around periods so women all over the globe can feel empowered, supported and can live the life they want without fear or shame. Boydyform took a look at their category and discovered that despite its reason for being; to help women, it had systematically avoided the reality of periods. Bodyform wanted to be the first to take the leap, tackling the actual factors, so they sharpened their purpose: “Help create the conditions for women to live the life they want, by breaking period taboos”. Despite not being the category leader, they used their scale to help shift society’s attitudes. Since 2016, Bodyform has successfully brought their purpose to life through campaigns that connect meaningfully with women, most recently with much acclaimed #wombstories.

Octopus Energy

Green energy supplier, Octopus provides low cost, clean energy to homes and businesses across the UK and beyond. Their purpose is to “make energy fair, clean, and simple”. They not only keep their costs lower than other suppliers, offering the only variable tariff below the energy price cap, but they have never made a profit. Throughout the ongoing energy crisis, they have shouldered more than £150 million to give their customers the lowest variable tarif in the UK. Furthermore, they have multiple initiatives in place to ensure extra help for those who need it most. Octopus introduced Octo Assist, an assistance fund, giving direct support to customers struggling the most with higher bills in the crisis. They created a £2.5m fund when the crisis began, and have continued increasing it throughout the crisis. The fund has already helped tens of thousands of customers with specialised support, and since the October price cap rise was announced, they’ve doubled it again from £7.5m to £15m.

Rubies in the Rubble

Purpose-led condiment producer Rubies in the Rubble exists to make delicious condiments using surplus ingredients. Their purpose is simple; to reduce food waste. They seek to provide a solution to food surplus, by creating food products people can enjoy & inspire them to value food as a precious resource. A third of all food produced globally is wasted, so to combat this, Rubies works with farms and collects the fresh fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste due to aesthetic imperfections or imbalances in the supply. Since 2011, they have already saved 351,600kg of fruits and vegetables as well as 294,500kg of CO2E.

Cushon

Cushon is the world’s first net-zero pension fund. Their business model is inherently purposeful and their mission is clear; “to improve people’s financial futures through healthier saving habits”. Don’t Panic worked with Cushon to bring their purpose to life through a creative campaign platform , “Zero Reasons Not To”, which made choosing a Net Zero pension a no-brainer by focusing on its financial and environmental benefits. Our hero campaign, “The Healthy Pension”, played into the fact that we all have weight to lose – 23 tonnes of CO2 to be precise – which we’re unknowingly carrying around with us through our workplace pensions. Following the launch of our hero animation that focused on the weighty stats at the heart of our campaign, we also raised awareness with an engaging PR stunt.

Brand Purpose Conclusion

In conclusion, a brand purpose is not simply a badge that companies can wear to look good or further their own objectives, nor the path to greater profits and better growth - you deliver it because you believe in it. A brand purpose needs to be an authentic manifestation of everything a brand’s target audience holds dear, and it should ultimately demonstrate a genuine desire for (and evidence of) positive social impact. Purpose brands should be prepared to spend money; brand purpose will generate ROI, but in the short term, it is likely to require investment. If it’s barely costing you anything, then perhaps the transformation isn’t going far enough. Lastly, don’t turn back! Protect budgets and ensure you’re committed to longer -term change, rather than a one-off sustainability campaign. Sadly, a few quarters of do-gooding isn’t going to make a genuine difference.

We specialise in campaigns with brand purpose!

At Don’t Panic, brand purpose campaigns are our calling.If you’re looking for help in articulating your brand purpose, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Email us at newbusiness@dontpaniclondon.comOur purpose and cause-led marketing services might just be exactly what you’re after.