by Niels Kramer
Remember the marketing rant in Part 1? It’s time to ditch the traditional marketing “garbage” and embrace the revolution that brings purpose-driven branding.
Purpose-driven marketing isn’t about perfection but direction. Be prepared for detours and bumps in the road. Stay committed to your purpose, keep assessing, and keep evolving, and you’ll maintain a brand that not only stands out in the market but also makes a real impact.
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To conclude our journey into creating a purpose-driven brand, use the lessons and tools within these pages to build a brand that genuinely makes a difference, and you’ll create not just a successful business, but a legacy!
What are your brand’s five most important values?
| Love | Assertiveness | Humor | Curiosity |
| clarity | Friendship | practicableness | Learning |
| Development | Security | Religion | Tradition |
| Persistence | health | focus | money |
| Influence | Compassion | Lead | Respect |
| Adventure | nature | fulfillment | flexibility |
| Optimism | knowledge | morals | creativity |
| Authenticity | Self-expression | Risk-taking | Pride |
| responsibility | initiative | seriousness | stability |
| balance | beauty | fundamental | spirituality |
| Freedom | honesty | acceptance | integrity |
| Innovation | quality | lightness | passion |
| Being Personal | sensitivity | forgiveness | giving back |
| Tolerance | Loyalty | Romance | Communication |
| Family | order | Making a difference | spontaneity |
| Continuity | improvement | discipline | happiness |
| Harmony | excellence | concern for the future | reciprocity |
| Listening | pleasure | meaning | independence |
| success | appreciation | professionalism | control |
| trust | achievement | faith | peace |
| growth | change | equality | competitiveness |
| Modesty | cooperation | Love of Country | Consistency |
| Teamwork | belonging | humility | action |
| Accuracy | Justice | Diversity | Openness |
Integrating Purpose into Your Brand
Purpose Driven Growth
As Deloitte’s research highlights, purpose isn’t just feel-good fluff – it’s a potent business catalyst. According to their 2020 study, purpose-driven brands outpace the competition, growing three times faster on average. This underscores the immense value of purpose as a guiding light for your brand and a key driver of your bottom line.
Some examples:
Mission Statement: “To help those experiencing homelessness.”
Bombas is a direct-to-consumer brand selling socks, but its purpose extends far beyond selling comfortable footwear. The company was established to address the fact that socks are among the most requested items in homeless shelters. Therefore, for every pair sold, Bombas donates a pair to a person in need.
Before aligning with this purpose, Bombas was just another entrant in a crowded marketplace. But once they embedded their mission into their business model, the company saw incredible growth. Not only did they sell and donate 100 million socks, but they also formed a deeply emotional connection with customers, which propelled their brand recognition and success.
Purpose Statement: “Good for your bum, Great for the world.”
Who Gives A Crap is a direct-to-consumer toilet paper company with a quirky name and a serious mission. Recognizing that 2.3 billion people worldwide don’t have access to basic sanitation, they committed to using 50% of their profits to build toilets in underserved areas.
By adopting a purpose-driven approach, Who Gives A Crap wasn’t seen as an expensive novelty product in a largely commoditized market. But by leveraging purpose to differentiate their brand, they saw rapid growth and global expansion. They started a conversation about a critical global issue, making them a standout brand in a typically unglamorous industry.
Purpose Statement: “Achieve a world where people are conscious of the environment in which we actively reduce single-use plastic waste.”
Dopper, a Dutch company selling reusable water bottles, was founded with the purpose of reducing plastic waste in our oceans. Every bottle sold contributes to water and sanitation projects in Nepal and global educational initiatives about plastic pollution.
The founder Merijn Everaarts launched a design competition to find the most sustainable alternative to single-use water bottles. By focusing on their mission to combat plastic pollution, Dopper carved out a unique niche for themselves. They are now a globally recognized brand, significantly impacting both environmental awareness and access to clean drinking water.
These examples illustrate the transformative power of purpose. By aligning their operations with a clear mission, these brands have boosted their bottom line and made a tangible difference in the world. In the following pages, you’ll learn how to harness this power for your brand.
Telling a Story That Sticks
Storytelling, of course, is crucial in marketing and even more so in purpose-driven marketing.
Startup pitch, A job interview, A first date, A courtroom trial, An evening with friends, A bedtime story for children, A political campaign rally, A wedding ceremony, A press conference, A brainstorming session, A therapy session, A public speaking event, A memorial service, A sales pitch, A product launch event…
It’s crucial in every aspect of our lives!
Stories are our lives!
The science behind storytelling.
Research has consistently shown that our brains are hardwired to process and retain stories more effectively than isolated facts or data. This innate predisposition towards storytelling not only highlights its significance in human culture but also underscores its value in purpose-driven marketing.
When you look at TED Talks, you’ll notice that the best ones are made up of 70% stories and 30% facts. Stories build trust, and trust is what you need for people to remember the facts.
Neuroscientist Uri Hasson conducted a study at Princeton University that demonstrated how stories synchronize the brains of the storyteller and the listener. This phenomenon, known as neural coupling, allows the listener to experience the story as if they were living it themselves. As a result, stories can create a powerful emotional connection that transcends mere information sharing.
Moreover, studies have revealed that stories engage multiple areas of the brain, including those responsible for processing emotions, sensory experiences, and social cognition. This engagement facilitates better memory retention and a deeper understanding of the presented content.
For example, research conducted by cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner suggests that people are 22 times more likely to remember information conveyed through a story than through facts alone.
Seven steps to developing a great brand story:
To effectively integrate purpose into your brand, you must weave it into your brand’s narrative. This is where the elements of powerful storytelling come into play.
This part summarizes The StoryBrand BrandScript book, which I highly recommend.
- Hero: Identify your target customer as the Hero of your brand story. Understand their desires and challenges and how your brand can help them overcome those challenges.
- Problem: Every Hero has a villain. Clearly define the problem or challenge that your Hero is facing. This problem should be relatable and significant enough to capture their attention and make them want a solution. How does it make them feel, and why it’s just plain wrong they have this challenge.
- Guide: Use empathy to position your brand as the guide or mentor who can help the Hero overcome the problem. Communicate how your brand has the expertise, resources, or solutions to lead them toward success.
- Plan: Present a clear plan or roadmap that outlines the steps your customer needs to take to solve their problem. Break it down into simple, actionable steps, emphasizing how your brand can assist them at each stage.
- Call to Action: Provide a specific and compelling CTA that motivates your customer to engage with your brand. It could a direct CTA like contact us now or make a purchase, or it could be a transitional CTA like signing up for a newsletter or scheduling a free consultation. Make it easy for them to take the next step.
- Success: Paint a vivid picture of what success looks like for your customer when they engage with your brand. Show the positive outcomes, benefits, or transformations they can expect by choosing your brand as their guide.
- Failure: Highlight the potential negative consequences or missed opportunities if your customer doesn’t take action. Create a sense of urgency and emphasize the importance of acting now.
Example
Let’s take a fictional B2B company as an example. This company provides software solutions to streamline supply chain management. The company’s purpose could be “Empowering businesses to achieve sustainability in their operations.” Their story begins with the problem—inefficient and environmentally harmful supply chains. The company, with its software, serves as the guide. The call to action could be to adopt their software, followed by success—efficient, sustainable supply chains—Avoid failure— Avoid wasted resources and environmental harm.
This storytelling approach is powerful because it positions your brand not as a faceless entity but as a reliable guide motivated by a strong purpose, working alongside your customers in their journey.
- Building a Purpose-Driven Team
The quest for a purpose-driven brand can only be accomplished with high-level strategic planning, brand positioning, and a great story. It necessitates the commitment of your most valuable resource—your people. Having a team that resonates with your purpose and carries it forward passionately is paramount to building an authentic purpose-driven brand.
Inspired by the conscious capitalism methodology, we’ll delve into how to instill your purpose within your team.
The idea of this higher purpose should permeate your organization’s culture. The hiring process should vet potential employees on their alignment with your purpose. An employee who genuinely believes in your purpose will be more engaged and productive and serve as a better brand ambassador.
Moreover, conscious capitalism espouses the principle of ‘Stakeholder Orientation.’ Every decision should consider the impact on all stakeholders, including employees. By considering employees as vital stakeholders, businesses can create an environment where employees feel valued and heard. This will engender a sense of ownership among employees for the brand’s purpose and create a motivated, engaged workforce.
This requires “Conscious Leadership”. Leaders should not only personify the purpose of the brand but should also inspire and encourage their teams to do the same. As a conscious leader, being transparent about your purpose, leading by example, and fostering an environment of collaboration and empowerment can go a long way in building a purpose-driven team.
Finally, fostering a ‘Conscious Culture,’ an environment that promotes trust, accountability, transparency, and a shared purpose, is critical. Regular workshops, team activities, and open discussions around the brand’s purpose can nurture this culture.
Examples
Consider a B2B cybersecurity firm with the purpose of “Safeguarding the digital world for businesses.” They could host regular ‘Security Think Tanks,’ where team members brainstorm innovative ways to realize this purpose. Leaders at the firm could conduct ‘Transparency Talks,’ where they discuss the company’s goals, challenges, and each team member’s role in fulfilling their purpose.
Take, for example, Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company. Their purpose is “We’re in business to save our home planet.” They ensure all employees align with their environmental ethics to build a purpose-driven team. They foster a conscious culture through initiatives like ‘Tools for Grassroots Activists’ where they encourage their employees and customers to participate in environmental activism. Patagonia’s leadership exemplifies conscious leadership by making bold decisions aligned with their purpose, such as donating their entire Black Friday sales to environmental causes.
In essence, building a purpose-driven team involves creating a culture that lives and breathes your purpose, a leadership that champions it, and a commitment to considering the impact of your purpose on all stakeholders.
- Communicating Your Purpose Effectively
In the end, communicating purpose is the same as communicating any marketing message but with a key differentiator, purpose fuels passion, and passion is contagious. When people resonate with your purpose-driven messaging, they will want to participate. It will be a lighthouse and inspire action instead of promoting, or worse, pushing towards, action. It is hope-driven and not fear driven. It is based on connecting and not on setting apart. It builds trust.
The media and channels you use for purpose-driven campaigns will be the same as you would use for any other campaign. TV, Media, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter… whatever is necessary to tell your story to the right audience. The difference is the message.
Building Trust
A significant part of a strong brand Identity is based on trust, and the good thing is that Purpose-driven brands are very good at creating trust. In the 2023 Edelman Trust barometer, Businesses emerged as the most trusted institution, with 61% of global respondents expressing confidence in them. This is in stark contrast to the government (52%), NGOs (57%), and media (45%), which have all struggled to gain trust in the midst of polarization and the erosion of public faith.
The report also highlights that 74% of respondents believe CEOs should lead in creating change rather than waiting for the government to impose it. This indicates a shift in public perception where businesses are seen as economic drivers and as agents of societal change.
I buy or advocate for brands based on my Believes and Values
63%
Having a societal impact is a strong expectation or dealbreaker when considering a job.
69%
The survey also emphasizes the importance of businesses having a clear purpose and strong values, with 72% of respondents stating that a company’s purpose and values are crucial factors in determining trust and buying behaviour. This underlines the need for businesses to be transparent and authentic in their communications and campaigns.
What to watch out for
Be a-political: One of the things to watch out for is to avoid becoming political.
- Don’t align with one political party
- Base actions on science
- Be consistent in your values
Transparency: Ensure your marketing campaigns provide clear, honest information about your products or services.
Respect for Privacy: Respect consumer privacy by obtaining appropriate consent and using personal data responsibly in your marketing campaigns.
Diversity and Inclusivity: Promote diversity and inclusivity in your marketing campaigns by representing a wide range of perspectives and avoiding stereotypes.
Social Responsibility: Consider the impact of your marketing campaigns on society and strive to contribute positively to social and environmental issues.
Authenticity: Create authentic marketing campaigns that genuinely reflect your brand values, avoiding misleading or deceptive tactics.
In communicating your purpose, it’s critical to avoid ‘greenwashing’ or making deceptive claims about being more environmentally friendly or socially responsible than you actually are. Consumers today are savvy and can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. Adhering to the truth with full transparency is not just ethically right; it’s also good business.
Admitting your mistakes and recognizing areas where you can still make progress is a potent way to show authenticity. By being open about your challenges, you convey that your purpose isn’t a marketing gimmick but a genuine commitment that you’re striving to live up to.
Backing up your statements with facts and scientific data can add credibility to your purpose. For example, if your brand is committed to reducing waste, sharing specific data about the amount of waste you’ve reduced can validate your commitment and show your progress.
The 2020 Zeno Strength of Purpose Study unveiled that when consumers think a brand has a strong Purpose, they are:
- 4 times more likely to purchase from the company
- 6 times more likely to protect the company in the event of a misstep or public criticism
- 4.5 times more likely to champion the company and recommend it to friends and family
- 4.1 times more likely to trust the company
- Evaluating and Evolving Your Purpose-Driven Brand
Navigating the terrain of purpose-driven branding is an ongoing expedition, not a single destination. As with any expedition, regular evaluations and adjustments are paramount to staying on course. This chapter equips you with tools and strategies to continuously evaluate your brand’s alignment with its purpose and adjust as needed, ensuring it stays impactful, relevant, and true to its purpose.
Define KPIs:
The first step is to establish key performance indicators (KPIs). To measure the impact of your brand’s initiatives, it is essential to establish clear and measurable metrics aligned with your brand’s purpose. Write down the key objectives and outcomes you aim to achieve through purpose-driven activities. These metrics can include social, environmental, and economic indicators. For instance, if your purpose revolves around reducing carbon emissions, you can measure the amount of CO2 emissions reduced within a specific period.
Quantitative Data Analysis:
Where possible, collect relevant data and apply analytical tools to derive insights. For example, you can track the number of customers engaged in your purpose-driven campaigns, the increase in customer loyalty, or the growth in sales of sustainable products. Data can be obtained from surveys, customer feedback, social media analytics, and sales reports.
Qualitative Assessment:
While quantitative data provides valuable insights, qualitative assessment offers a deeper understanding of the impact made by purpose-driven brands. Qualitative methods involve gathering personal information through interviews, focus groups, and case studies. This helps capture personal stories, experiences, and perceptions of your brand’s purpose. Qualitative data can shed light on customers’ emotional connection with your brand, their awareness of your purpose, and the overall influence your brand has on their lives.
Social and Environmental Impact Measurement:
Purpose-driven brands often aim to address social and environmental challenges. You can adopt frameworks designed specifically for this purpose to measure their impact. The B Impact Assessment and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are examples of widely recognized frameworks that help assess and report social and environmental performance. These frameworks provide guidelines to evaluate your brand’s impact across various dimensions, such as governance, labor practices, community involvement, and environmental sustainability.
Collaborations and Partnerships:
Measuring impact becomes more effective when purpose-driven brands collaborate with external organizations and stakeholders. Engaging in partnerships with nonprofits, research institutions, and industry associations can provide valuable expertise, resources, and access to data. Collaborative efforts enable the collection of comprehensive data, cross-validation of findings, and the ability to track impact at a larger scale.
Long-Term Evaluation:
Measuring the impact of purpose-driven initiatives requires a long-term perspective. Impact assessment should not be limited to short-term achievements but also consider the sustained effects of purpose-driven activities. Establish a system to monitor and evaluate impact continuously. Regularly review and update your metrics to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with your evolving purpose and goals.
Remember, impact measurement is an ongoing endeavor that requires dedication and adaptability to create a meaningful difference and drive positive change in the world.
Brand audits:
Assess your brand’s actions, communications, and public perception. Does everything align with your purpose? Be prepared to confront the uncomfortable truths if something doesn’t match up. Honesty in these assessments can lead to powerful realignments and improved authenticity.
Remember to consider the external landscape.
Keep a close eye on societal, environmental, and market changes that may affect your purpose or how it’s perceived. Your purpose may need to evolve to stay relevant, meaningful, and feasible. For instance, an increased societal focus on climate change might lead a brand to deepen its commitment to sustainability.
Employee feedback
Another crucial aspect of this evaluation is employee feedback. Employees are not only your brand’s ambassadors; they are also its conscience. Regularly request feedback on how well they think the company is living up to its purpose and what improvements they suggest.
The Purpose-Capabilities Alignment Matrix
Aligning purpose with strategy and organizational abilities ensures that the goals are realistic, achievable, and based on the organization’s resources and competencies.
The purpose-capability matrix will help you recognize your strengths and elements where you still need to improve.
Niels Kramer is the founder of Human Brands & Marketing, which helps companies differentiate themselves and achieve sustainable growth by providing purpose-driven marketing solutions to become the brand their customers love.
