A brand purpose definition is essential to clarify the reason why the brand exists, usually composed when the business is formed but it can get lost in day-to-day operations. It should highlight the social impact the company makes - how it improves the lives of the customers in the short and long term. Integrating a clear core purpose establishes a foundation to build on, in terms of branding, employee engagement, purpose led communication and value generation through products or services.
Purpose driven organisations acquire a competitive advantage against those without a statement, as the brand purpose statement guides the actions of the company, becoming a key filter when making decisions or building strategy. The EY Beacon Institute defines the underlying concept of a company’s purpose as enabling more value creation for shareholders and society over the long term, as opposed to pursuing purely financial goals. They see Purpose as an aspirational reason for being, grounded in humanity, which is at the core of responding to the business and societal challenges.
To support the importance of it, a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report, sponsored by EY conducted a global survey of 474 executives. 84% of them reported that purpose, providing a call to action for an organization and providing benefits to the local and global society can affect the company’s ability to transform and innovate. 53% of the executives who are coming from organizations with a strong sense of purpose, said purpose employed as a key driver of strategy and decision-making makes innovation and transformation efforts more successful, leading to the ability to deliver consistent revenue growth.
However, it is vital to make a distinction between purpose, mission and vision statement before going more in depth. They are all connected, but they tap into different parts of the core of a company and business leaders should be clear in distinguishing them. The purpose can be seen as the ‘why’, usually not changing over time but rather inspiring the transformations. The vision clarifies the goals to accomplish as a result of the reason of being, and the mission highlights the ‘how’ part.
Driven brands benefit from their core purpose in various ways, as detailed by The Purpose Institute. In addition to bringing strategic clarity, a brand purpose can also drive innovation. By identifying a long-term perspective and social impact, it empowers employees to search for and deliver solutions aligned with the company’s purpose. Reducing misunderstandings and inefficient processes due to unclear higher goals, therefore fostering greater cohesion can be achieved with a clearly defined and communicated brand purpose.
Another advantage of establishing a purpose is to channel it into purpose driven branding strategies. Especially to appeal to the Millenial and Gen Z audiences, it is vital to put emphasis on the contributions to society and sustainable living through purpose driven marketing efforts. Aside from attracting potential customers, infusing the core purpose and brand stories connected to the fulfillment of it can help a brand stand out from the competition when attracting top talent.
A way to accomplish that is by conveying the shared values and meaningful purpose through purpose driven communications and purpose driven storytelling. Enriching marketing and advertising campaigns with social impact can lead to compelling brand stories, not only sharing what the business is doing but also the meaningful contribution to a sustainable future. From educating consumers about conscious consumption to inspiring business leaders to inject social innovation into their corporate bloodstream like our mission is, there are various opportunities for purpose driven communications.
On the other hand, communicating the brand purpose statement internally can help managers understand their own sense of leadership and also inspire the staff members. Having a more meaningful goal to work toward results in engaged employees, motivating people through meaning and driving successful transformation and innovation processes. This can affect employee retention, as millenials, who believe they are working for purposeful companies are more likely to stay by 5.3 folds than those who work for companies with an unclear brand purpose.
Creating better value for customers, enabling the company to stand out as an employer, cultivating a motivational organisational culture and inspiring innovation can all lead to business success, powered by a clear brand purpose statement.
A shared purpose brings strategic clarity to purpose driven organizations, constituting the first pillar for becoming a good business, together with a shared vision, shared values and sustainability.
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