Purpose without a clear definition is meaningless

This article covers brand purpose, specifically its spectrum of meaning from a vague positioning intention to very specific action, arguing that purpose should refer to some sort of social mission borne out in all the brand does.

Purpose without a clear definition is meaningless

Daianna Karaian

There is much confused and ambiguous talk about 'brand purpose', with writers and speakers using the term in ways that range from vague positioning intentions to very specific actions. Daianna Karaian argues that 'purpose' should refer specifically to some form of social mission and evidenced as such in everything a company or brand does.

I'm bored with purpose. So much energy has been spent on books, blogs, seminars and studies about why brand purpose is important. And yet so little of note has been done about it - probably because we...

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands