Brand purpose is a topic that divides opinion but those arguing in its favour got a boost in October when consultant Peter Field reported that “there can be considerable benefits for companies in deploying brand purpose campaigns”.
Opponents were instantly on the case, however, criticising his methodology and forcing Field to clarify his position, which was “not to elevate brand pupose [but] to see if all brand purpose performed poorly and, if not, whether there was anything useful we could learn from the better performers”.
Bottom line: if you do use brand purpose you have to do it well; do it badly and it’s better not to have bothered.
It’s a topic that isn’t going to disappear; if anything, the pandemic has brought it even more to the fore. Brand behaviours are under scrutiny and any disconnect between what they say and what they do will be quickly called out. Aligning growth and “good” is a challenge many brands have yet to manage.
