Brand Purpose was one of those marketing concepts that was all the rage, but seems to have faded away. Here’s the story of its rise and fall and where it stands today.
When did our obsession with brand purpose begin?
I blame Sinek Simon and his Golden Circles Tedx Talk in 2009. His key quote was that ‘people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it’. His mantra was to ‘start with the why’.
In other words, all brands should find a higher purpose. They should move beyond just selling products and making profits. This could be around an environmental issue, changing society’s attitudes, or creating a fairer society.
He’s a very persuasive presenter.
It seemed to strike a chord with the marketing community. There was increasing societal pressure on brands to act responsibly. Social media meant that brands were under greater scrutiny. Consumers admired brands committed to supporting wider issues.
Patagonia became a brand everyone fell in love with. People admired its commitment to purpose. There was a rise of brands that appeared to have a higher mission. Often, they were aspirational start-ups such as Tom’s and Warby Parker. Or established brands that began to talk more openly about the ‘good works’ in which they were engaged.
Purpose goes mainstream
In 2019, Unilever became the evangelist of brand purpose. It claimed that their growth was due to purpose. Dove was a prime example. It then made the bold claim that all its brands would be purpose-led in the future.
Everyone followed suit. At brand positioning workshops including a ‘brand purpose’ was mandatory.
The anti-purpose backlash
Then brands began ‘force-fitting’ purpose-led messages into their brands inappropriately. Several high-profile advertising campaigns backfired. Pepsi ran a commercial featuring Kendal Jenner, where she appeared to be trivialising the Black Lives Matter Movement. Gillette was criticised for entering a debate on toxic masculinity.
As brands tried to extol their environmental credentials, they were accused of ‘greenwashing’. Even beloved brands like Innocent had their advertising banned over ‘misleading’ claims.
People questioned whether every brand needed to be purpose-led. Does a mayonnaise brand need a purpose? What’s the purpose of my range of savoury snacks? Or my car insurance?
In October 2023, Unilever’s new chief executive Hein Schumacher changed direction. He said that purpose could be an ‘unwelcome distraction’ for brands, in an interview with the FT
‘Not every brand should have a social or environmental purpose. And we don’t want to fit that on brands unnecessarily,’
Where does this leave purpose today?
We now have a more balanced approach to using Purpose when positioning brands. We know that Purpose can be effective, but not for all brands and all types of consumers. Indeed, many brands continue to make purpose central to their proposition. Here are 9 examples.
Some people have redefined what Purpose is all about. For example, they argue that providing pleasure and indulgence is a ‘Purpose’. This appears to be a bit of a stretch.
Brands and businesses now accept they must act responsibly. It’s normalised. They measure themselves on their standards of ESG - their environmental, societal and governance impact. It's important for investors, corporate reputation and employee motivation.
We no longer believe in the Simon Sinek mantra. We accept that not every brand needs to include a ‘Why’ in how it positions itself. In other words, brands need to be purposeful about Purpose.