Is there a recipe to build Purposeful Brand ?

Understanding the 'purpose' of life is a pursuit that has enchanted prophets, philosophers and commoners alike, for years. Brands, too, can't evade this existential question. Not surprisingly, building brands with strong & compelling 'purpose' has been the holy grail for marketers.

First things first - what is Brand Purpose? While there are many flowery definitions, I have a very simple one. It is said that the objective of any enterprise/brand is to generate money for its stakeholders, consistently & incrementally. Brand Purpose starts where this objective ends. It is the 'brand's reason to exist beyond just making money'. It can be a cause, stance, sourcing, people practices or the nature of product/service itself.

A strong purpose helps in many ways. It creates an army of loyalists who choose the 'brand before the product'. This positive predisposition results into better loyalty, price premium & reputation. Due to this, many marketers have endeavored to build the utopian 'brand with purpose'. Yet, very few have succeeded. Examples of purposeful brands are far & few. One would see the same examples repeating in every case study.

So, are we losing the plot somewhere? As a marketer, I have tried to build purposeful brands . In some I succeeded, in some I failed. But I did learn every time. Sharing below my learnings, mostly drawn from personal experiences.

I have bucketed these learnings into 6 bullet points below. They intend to answer all the questions one would encounter during the journey of building a purposeful brand. Hope you find it useful.

1. How do you 'discover' the brand purpose ? By answering a simple question - what can you uniquely offer/do/say that will create a large customer-fan base? You have to find a sweet intersection spot between these two. It can be the founder's belief, like Starbucks .Starbucks has created a 'third place' outside of work & home. It is not just about coffee. It is about the experience. This came from the strong belief of Howard Shultz, its founder. It could be tapping into a strong customer sentiment, like Lush. Its offering of packaging-free, natural & safe ingredient-based cosmetics are loved by its audience. Secondly, brand purpose should not be mistaken for an emotional communication or a social media campaign. Purpose is much larger. It should manifest through everything that the brand/organization does. Be it product/service, communication, sourcing , people policies , policy views etc.

Also, brand purpose is obvious & it's out there. If you are struggling to find it , you probably don't have one. Brand purpose is 'inside out'. If you need an external help to find it, you don't have. Remember, the operating word is 'discover', not 'invent'.

2. Do all the stakeholders 'know' & 'own' the brand purpose? Activating a strong brand purpose requires the entire organization to believe in it and contribute towards it. It is not the hegemony of the marketing department or its agencies. Most purposeful brands were built because it inspired the employees first. Nike was built with a vision to unleash the athlete in a common man, by the people who passionately believed in it. Body Shop was built by the people who were appalled by the cruelty against animals in the cosmetics industry and wanted to bring about a change.

So, the first step in activating a brand purpose is to evangelize it internally. Discuss, debate , disagree, but finally have aligned & inspired employees. This will help in driving tangible actions to build the brand purpose.

3. Is the purpose built on a strong , sustainable & large insight ? Building a purposeful brand needs long-term commitment and investment. Hence, it is only logical that it is built on a strong, sustainable & differentiated insight . It should also appeal to a large customer base. Eg. Dove wants women to be comfortable in their own skin and re-evaluate their yardstick for beauty. Self-love is a big, timeless & universal insight and would continue to be so for many years. Please look for an insight from this lens. Don't follow a trend ( or worse, a fad) that will fade with time .

4. Is your brand purpose consistent with your 'Core' ? 'Core' is any top association that consumers would relate with the brand. Eg. intangible like Trust for Tata , tangible like innovative product for Apple, attribute like Speed for BMW.

Prerequisite for a strong purpose is that it should 'connect' with the consumers. Consumers will connect with your brand purpose only if it has an obvious & strong connection with the organization 'core.' Eg. Tata Salt eradicated Iodine deficiency in India through the pinch of Salt itself. Apple inspired an entire generation to 'think different' by creating 'products' that are pioneering & creative. This is an extremely important point. Having a purpose that is in dissonance with the core can be disastrous. A telecom brand 'saving the tigers' or a bubble-gum 'changing the world' can at best be a fancy communication idea , but won't remotely build a purposeful brand.

5.Does your brand purpose have a 'Not to Do' list ? A strong brand purpose is based on a strong point of view and a polarizing stance . It derives its sharpness by choosing what NOT to do as much as by choosing what to do. Imagine Dove launching a make-up range. Building a purposeful brand requires some sacrifice. In the early stage of building Tata Sampann, we learnt this. Our brand purpose is to build a healthy nation through every day, native & nutritionally superior products. That left out many opportunities - exotic ingredients, me-too products , processed food. To build a purposeful brand, one must have a NOT to do list ready.

6. Can you 'measure' the effectiveness of Brand Purpose? Everything that is powerful deliverers tangible results. Ditto for brand purpose. It gives a strong competitive advantage, that is 'tangible' & 'measurable'. Common metrics could be - higher loyalty / repeat purchase, better sentiment score, price premium over a similar competition etc. Every effort to build a purposeful brand ought to be measured. It is not amorphous. Don't let anyone believe you otherwise .

And the last one, do you necessarily need Brand Purpose to build a successful brand? My answer is 'NO'. If you are building a purposeful brand, you would know & discover soon .Don't try too hard. Brand Purpose is akin to the Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. It sits on the top. But works only if the bottom needs are fulfilled. Brand purpose won't compensate for poor proposition & offering. If you are a Mayonnaise brand, first make tasty salads & sandwiches. Saving the earth can wait. If you are a telecom brand, first offer strong network & customer service. Don't try to 'break boundaries through communication' before that.