Consumers today are shopping their values more than ever and are choosing brands with a shared purpose.
At a recent Brand Innovators Marketing livecast on Purpose-Driven Marketing, leading brand marketers shared their approach to purpose and living their values.
Andrew Shripka, Vice President Global Marketing, Wolverine Worldwide is inspired by Simon Sinek’s book “Start with Why,” and referred to the lessons from this book when working on the brand’s purpose.
“We always say that this brand exists to support people who forge their own path and those who stop at nothing to build the future they want,” said Andrew Shripka, Vice President Global Marketing, Wolverine Worldwide. “Wolverine’s primary business is with work boots’ steel toes for trade workers. We also have a small premium USA made lifestyle business as well as an outdoor business, but the core of our business is work. Within that purpose it’s really intended to focus on our core consumer.”
Reach Mobile has a business model that aims to bring connectivity to the 3.9 billion people around the globe who do not have access to the Internet, many of whom happen to be women. The company’s approach to purpose is to create a business model that also helps the charity model scale itself.
“When you are surrounded by your children having a tablet and everybody else on their gadgets, it is very easy to miss that that is not commonplace,” said Harjot Saluja, CEO at Reach Mobile. “Traveling to places in Latin America and Southeast Asia, I realized that these aren’t commonplace. We did some research and found that there were 3.9 billion people that were unconnected in this world, which is a huge number if you think about it and the majority of them happen to be women. This sort of planted the seed for what we are doing today. That started the process for where we are today.”
For Oreo, a brand that has existed for more than 100 years, the brand has always been about building playful connections between people.
“OREO is a beloved brand and it’s a privilege to have that as a marketer,” said Lauren Flanigan, Senior Brand Manager, OREO, Mondelēz International. “It is such a beloved brand because it’s something that’s been crafted with a lot of intention over time. Of course the product, the cookie itself is delicious, but it is also the intent behind the brand connecting with consumers. That connection is happening at such a deep level for people and purpose is a really natural part of that. When I think about purpose, our purpose-driven approach is in everything that we do. We have dedicated purpose-driven campaigns, but we really have those brand values live throughout all experiences that touch the brand, everything from who we choose to partner with – influencer or celebrity – all the way to who we represent in our paid media campaigns down to the actual purpose-driven execution.”
Authenticity is core to running a purpose-driven brand and companies should focus on how they are showing up in honest and meaningful ways.
“When we think of inclusivity, Black Lives Matter brought a lot of conversations to the forefront. We started seeing different patterns like the rainbow washing brands trying to tap into different moments with different groups, which begs the question: is this part of your core identity, or are you just trying to push product?,” said Qianna Smith Bruneteau, Founder, American Influencer Council. “Gen Z truly understands – are you selling something because you want to make change as a change agent or is this about a bottom line? Being purpose driven, it’s something that has to be reflected in the employee framework. How is a business supporting their employees, and how is that reflecting in their products and marketing? Brands who are doing it right, you’re seeing it carry across in every vertical.”
Purpose should be core to a brand’s business and not just a marketing tactic to win over business as consumers are smart enough to know the difference.
“Purpose-driven brands are the brands that will be winning in the long run. It doesn’t really matter what your purpose is, it matters that you have a purpose and that it’s authentic,” said Jenna Tanenbaum, Head of Growth Marketing, Who Gives A Crap. “ It can’t just be a marketing ploy or a marketing campaign. Successful purpose driven brands and marketing comes from the true essence and DNA from what a business is. It comes through loud and clear whether it’s actually a purpose driven business or not. Consumers have become extremely savvy to what is authentic and what is not.”
